Systems and methods for providing access to external content objects

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are methods, apparatus, systems and computer program products for database system communications with external content management data sources. In some implementations, the data sources are identified in a user interface. An authorization selection enables authorization of a given identified data source, and a customization selection enables customization of one or more search settings for searching content of the data source. Persistent objects representing content objects of the data sources can be stored in one or more databases. A database search can be performed on both native database files and the persistent objects.

PRIORITY DATA

This patent document is a continuation of and claims priority toco-pending and commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/189,702, titled “Systems and Methods for Providing Access to ExternalContent Objects”, by Micucci et al., filed on Feb. 25, 2014, which: (1)claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/845,015,titled “Systems and Methods for Providing Access to Content ObjectsAcross Multiple Content Repositories”, by Maquaire et al., filed on Jul.11, 2013, and (2) is a continuation in part of and claims priority toU.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/844,203, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Content Management in an On-Demand Environment”, by Micucci et al.,filed on Mar. 15, 2013, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/695,984, titled “Content Management”, by Micucci etal., filed on Aug. 31, 2012, all of which are hereby incorporated byreference in their entireties and for all purposes.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material,which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This patent document relates generally to accessing content in anexternal data repository from an on-demand database service and, morespecifically, to techniques for providing access in an on-demanddatabase service to a content object stored in an external contentmanagement data source.

BACKGROUND

“Cloud computing” services provide shared resources, software, andinformation to computers and other devices upon request. In cloudcomputing environments, software can be accessible over the Internetrather than installed locally on in-house computer systems. Cloudcomputing typically involves over-the-Internet provision of dynamicallyscalable and often virtualized resources. Technological details can beabstracted from the users, who no longer have need for expertise in, orcontrol over, the technology infrastructure “in the cloud” that supportsthem.

Various content files and folders can be accessed in a cloud computingcontext. However, many of the content files and folders are storedacross multiple data repositories. As such, it can be difficult toconnect, access, and search for desired data across the multiple datarepositories. It can also be difficult for users to share such contentand collaborate with each other regarding the content in a cloudcomputing context, such as an online social network. Such difficultiescan be exacerbated where the tools and techniques for providing accessand referencing such content are limited.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The included drawings are for illustrative purposes and serve only toprovide examples of possible structures and operations for the disclosedinventive systems, apparatus, and methods for providing access in anon-demand database service to a content object stored in an externalcontent management data source. These drawings in no way limit anychanges in form and detail that may be made by one skilled in the artwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosedimplementations.

FIG. 1A shows a block diagram of an example of an environment 10 inwhich an on-demand database service can be used in accordance with someimplementations.

FIG. 1B shows a block diagram of an example of some implementations ofelements of FIG. 1A and various possible interconnections between theseelements.

FIG. 2A shows a system diagram illustrating an example of architecturalcomponents of an on-demand database service environment 200 according tosome implementations.

FIG. 2B shows a system diagram further illustrating an example ofarchitectural components of an on-demand database service environmentaccording to some implementations.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of an example of a method 300 for trackingupdates to a record stored in a database system, performed in accordancewith some implementations.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of an example of components of a databasesystem configuration 400 performing a method for tracking an update to arecord according to some implementations.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of an example of a method 500 for trackingactions of a user of a database system, performed in accordance withsome implementations.

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of an example of a method 600 for creating anews feed from messages created by a user about a record or anotheruser, performed in accordance with some implementations.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a group feed on a group page according tosome implementations.

FIG. 8 shows an example of a record feed containing a feed trackedupdate, post, and comments according to some implementations.

FIG. 9A shows an example of a plurality of tables that may be used intracking events and creating feeds according to some implementations.

FIG. 9B shows a flowchart of an example of a method 900 forautomatically subscribing a user to an object in a database system,performed in accordance with some implementations.

FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of an example of a method 1000 for savinginformation to feed tracking tables, performed in accordance with someimplementations.

FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of an example of a method 1100 for reading afeed item as part of generating a feed for display, performed inaccordance with some implementations.

FIG. 12 shows a flowchart of an example of a method 1200 for reading afeed item of a profile feed for display, performed in accordance withsome implementations.

FIG. 13 shows a flowchart of an example of a method 1300 of storingevent information for efficient generation of feed items to display in afeed, performed in accordance with some implementations.

FIG. 14 shows a flowchart of an example of a method 1400 for creating acustom feed for users of a database system using filtering criteria,performed in accordance with some implementations.

FIG. 15 shows a flowchart of an example of a computer-implemented method1500 for establishing access with a content object stored in a contentmanagement data source from an on-demand database service, performed inaccordance with some implementations.

FIG. 16 shows a flowchart of an example of a computer-implemented method1600 for providing access in an on-demand database service to a contentobject stored in an external content management data source, performedin accordance with some implementations.

FIG. 17 shows a flowchart of an example of a computer-implemented method1700 for interacting with a content object stored in an external contentmanagement data source, performed in accordance with someimplementations.

FIG. 18 shows a flowchart of an example of a computer-implemented method1800 for identifying a category associated with a persistent object inan on-demand database service, performed in accordance with someimplementations.

FIG. 19 shows an example of a system diagram 1900 illustratingarchitectural components for establishing access with a plurality ofcontent management data sources, according to some implementations.

FIG. 20 shows another example of a system diagram 2000 illustratingarchitectural components for establishing access with a plurality ofcontent management data sources, according to some implementations.

FIG. 21 shows an example of a system diagram 2100 illustrating anon-demand database service in communication with a data center havingon-premise content management data sources, according to someimplementations.

FIG. 22 shows another example of a system diagram 2200 illustrating anon-demand database service in communication with a data center havingon-premise content management data sources, according to some otherimplementations.

FIG. 23 shows an example of a system diagram 2300 illustrating a systemarchitecture for establishing access with an external content managementdata source from an on-demand database service, according to someimplementations.

FIG. 24 shows an example of an application programming interface (API)for creating a persistent object representing a content object.

FIG. 25 shows an example of a user interface for identifying an externaldata source to access.

FIG. 26 shows an example of a user interface for identifying an externalcontent management data source to access.

FIG. 27 shows an example of a settings page and details page forpreviously identified accessible external data sources.

FIG. 28 shows an example of a user interface for administeringauthorized connections to one or more external content management datasources.

FIG. 29 shows an example of a user interface for administering the typesof user accounts authorized to access one or more external data sources.

FIG. 30 shows an example of a user interface for administering thepermissions of the user accounts in accessing the one or more externaldata sources.

FIG. 31 shows an example of a user interface including a plurality ofreferences to persistent objects for content stored in a plurality ofexternal data sources.

FIG. 32A shows an example of a user interface for accessing an externalcontent management data source with a plug-in for publishing to anon-demand database service.

FIG. 32B shows an example of the user interface of FIG. 32A updated toinclude a published feed item having a reference to a content objectstored in the external content management data source.

FIG. 33 shows an example of a user interface with the published feeditem from FIG. 32B provided in an information feed of an on-demanddatabase service.

FIG. 34 shows an example of an example of a user interface displaying acontent files list including the reference to the content object storedin the external content management data source from FIG. 32B.

FIG. 35 shows an example of a user interface including a detailedinformation page displaying data regarding a persistent objectrepresenting the content object stored in the external contentmanagement data source from FIG. 32B.

FIG. 36 shows an example of a user interface including a searchcomponent for searching through one or more databases in an on-demanddatabase service.

FIG. 37 shows an example of a user interface providing search resultsincluding native files and external content files in the on-demanddatabase service.

FIGS. 38A-38C show an example of a user interface illustratingnavigation through content files and folders stored in an externalcontent management data source from an on-demand database service.

FIG. 38D shows an example of a user interface illustrating a detailedinformation page displaying data in the on-demand database service foran external content file.

FIGS. 39A-39C show an example of a user interface illustrating asequence of steps for sharing a content file stored in an externalcontent management data source in an information feed in the on-demanddatabase service.

FIG. 40 shows an example of a database table for a plurality of dataentries identifying topics for a persistent object and correspondingvalues indicating relevancy of the topic for the persistent object.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Examples of systems, apparatus, and methods according to the disclosedimplementations are described in this section. These examples are beingprovided solely to add context and aid in the understanding of thedisclosed implementations. It will thus be apparent to one skilled inthe art that implementations may be practiced without some or all ofthese specific details. In other instances, certain process/methodoperations, also referred to herein as “blocks,” have not been describedin detail in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring implementations.Other applications are possible, such that the following examples shouldnot be taken as definitive or limiting either in scope or setting.

In the following detailed description, references are made to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part of the description and in whichare shown, by way of illustration, specific implementations. Althoughthese implementations are described in sufficient detail to enable oneskilled in the art to practice the disclosed implementations, it isunderstood that these examples are not limiting, such that otherimplementations may be used and changes may be made without departingfrom their spirit and scope. For example, the blocks of methods shownand described herein are not necessarily performed in the orderindicated. It should also be understood that the methods may includemore or fewer blocks than are indicated. In some implementations, blocksdescribed herein as separate blocks may be combined. Conversely, whatmay be described herein as a single block may be implemented in multipleblocks.

Various implementations described or referenced herein are directed todifferent methods, apparatus, systems, and computer-readable storagemedia for establishing access with and providing access to a contentobject stored in a content management data source from an on-demanddatabase service. The on-demand database service can include onlinebusiness applications and online social networks, also referred toherein as a social networking system.

Online social networks are increasingly becoming a common way tofacilitate communication among people, any of whom can be recognized asusers of a social networking system. One example of an online socialnetwork is Chatter®, provided by salesforce.com, inc. of San Francisco,Calif. salesforce.com, inc. is a provider of social networking services,customer relationship management (CRM) services and other databasemanagement services, any of which can be accessed and used inconjunction with the techniques disclosed herein in someimplementations. These various services can be provided in a cloudcomputing environment, for example, in the context of a multi-tenantdatabase system. Thus, the disclosed techniques can be implementedwithout having to install software locally, that is, on computingdevices of users interacting with services available through the cloud.While the disclosed implementations are often described with referenceto Chatter®, those skilled in the art should understand that thedisclosed techniques are neither limited to Chatter® nor to any otherservices and systems provided by salesforce.com, inc. and can beimplemented in the context of various other database systems and/orsocial networking systems such as Facebook®, LinkedIn®, Twitter®,Google+®, Yammer® and Jive® by way of example only.

Some online social networks can be implemented in various settings,including organizations. For instance, an online social network can beimplemented to connect users within an enterprise such as a company orbusiness partnership, or a group of users within such an organization.For instance, Chatter® can be used by employee users in a division of abusiness organization to share data, communicate, and collaborate witheach other for various social purposes often involving the business ofthe organization. In the example of a multi-tenant database system, eachorganization or group within the organization can be a respective tenantof the system, as described in greater detail below.

In some online social networks, users can access one or more socialnetwork feeds, which include information updates presented as items orentries in the feed. Such a feed item can include a single informationupdate or a collection of individual information updates. A feed itemcan include various types of data including character-based data, audiodata, image data and/or video data. A social network feed can bedisplayed in a graphical user interface (GUI) on a display device suchas the display of a computing device as described below. The informationupdates can include various social network data from various sources andcan be stored in an on-demand database service environment. In someimplementations, the disclosed methods, apparatus, systems, andcomputer-readable storage media may be configured or designed for use ina multi-tenant database environment.

In some implementations, an online social network may allow a user tofollow data objects in the form of records such as cases, accounts, oropportunities, in addition to following individual users and groups ofusers. The “following” of a record stored in a database, as described ingreater detail below, allows a user to track the progress of thatrecord. Updates to the record, also referred to herein as changes to therecord, are one type of information update that can occur and be notedon a social network feed such as a record feed or a news feed of a usersubscribed to the record. Examples of record updates include fieldchanges in the record, updates to the status of a record, as well as thecreation of the record itself. Some records are publicly accessible,such that any user can follow the record, while other records areprivate, for which appropriate security clearance/permissions are aprerequisite to a user following the record.

Information updates can include various types of updates, which may ormay not be linked with a particular record. For example, informationupdates can be user-submitted messages or can otherwise be generated inresponse to user actions or in response to events. Examples of messagesinclude: posts, comments, indications of a user's personal preferencessuch as “likes” and “dislikes”, updates to a user's status, uploadedfiles, and user-submitted hyperlinks to social network data or othernetwork data such as various documents and/or web pages on the Internet.Posts can include alpha-numeric or other character-based user inputssuch as words, phrases, statements, questions, emotional expressions,and/or symbols. Comments generally refer to responses to posts or toother information updates, such as words, phrases, statements, answers,questions, and reactionary emotional expressions and/or symbols.Multimedia data can be included in, linked with, or attached to a postor comment. For example, a post can include textual statements incombination with a JPEG image or animated image. A like or dislike canbe submitted in response to a particular post or comment. Examples ofuploaded files include presentations, documents, multimedia files, andthe like.

Users can follow a record by subscribing to the record, as mentionedabove. Users can also follow other entities such as other types of dataobjects, other users, and groups of users. Feed tracked updatesregarding such entities are one type of information update that can bereceived and included in the user's news feed. Any number of users canfollow a particular entity and thus view information updates pertainingto that entity on the users' respective news feeds. In some socialnetworks, users may follow each other by establishing connections witheach other, sometimes referred to as “friending” one another. Byestablishing such a connection, one user may be able to see informationgenerated by, generated about, or otherwise associated with anotheruser. For instance, a first user may be able to see information postedby a second user to the second user's personal social network page. Oneimplementation of such a personal social network page is a user'sprofile page, for example, in the form of a web page representing theuser's profile. In one example, when the first user is following thesecond user, the first user's news feed can receive a post from thesecond user submitted to the second user's profile feed. A user'sprofile feed is also referred to herein as the user's “wall,” which isone example of a social network feed displayed on the user's profilepage.

In some implementations, a social network feed may be specific to agroup of users of an online social network. For instance, a group ofusers may publish a news feed. Members of the group may view and post tothis group feed in accordance with a permissions configuration for thefeed and the group. Information updates in a group context can alsoinclude changes to group status information.

In some implementations, when data such as posts or comments input fromone or more users are submitted to a social network feed for aparticular user, group, object, or other construct within an onlinesocial network, an email notification or other type of networkcommunication may be transmitted to all users following the user, group,or object in addition to the inclusion of the data as a feed item in oneor more feeds, such as a user's profile feed, a news feed, or a recordfeed. In some online social networks, the occurrence of such anotification is limited to the first instance of a published input,which may form part of a larger conversation. For instance, anotification may be transmitted for an initial post, but not forcomments on the post. In some other implementations, a separatenotification is transmitted for each such information update.

Typically, content stored outside of an on-demand database service maybe difficult to access from the on-demand database service and may belimited to having to move, replicate, or provide a hyperlink to thecontent. In addition, access to such content may be limited as variousdata repositories have different APIs for access and authenticationrequirements. Furthermore, various content files and folders may bescattered across a plurality of different data sources. Thus, users maybe limited in their ability to access, collaborate on, share, modify,comment on, search, view, and otherwise interact with content stored inexternal data sources in an on-demand database service.

Some implementations of the disclosed systems, apparatus, methods, andcomputer readable storage media are configured to establish access witha content object stored in a content management data source from anon-demand database service. A computing device such as a server mayreceive a request from a user of the on-demand database service toaccess data regarding a content object stored in a content managementdata source, where the content management data source is external to theon-demand database service. Data regarding the content object in thecontent management data source may be identified via a universalapplication programming interface (API). The request may be communicatedto a repository-specific connector, where the repository-specificconnector is in communication with the content management data source.Access with the content object is established to retrieve the dataregarding the content object. A virtual object associated with theon-demand database service may be created, where the virtual objectinstantiates connection between the content object and the on-demanddatabase service. Data regarding the content object is provided to adisplay device operable to display the data regarding the content objectin a user interface for the on-demand database service.

Some implementations of the disclosed systems, apparatus, methods, andcomputer readable storage media are configured to provide access in anon-demand database service to a content object stored in an externalcontent management data source. A computing device such as a server mayreceive information data identifying a content object from an on-demanddatabase service, where the content object is stored in a contentmanagement data source external to the on-demand database service. Theinformation data identifying the content object may be communicated tothe content management data source through one or more middlewarecomponents. Access may be established with the content object toretrieve data regarding the content object. The data regarding thecontent object may be stored in a persistent object in a database of theon-demand database service, where the persistent object represents thecontent object in the on-demand database service and includes theinformation data identifying the content object. A selectable componentfor the persistent object may be provided to a display device operableto display the selectable component in a user interface for theon-demand database service.

Some implementations of the disclosed systems, apparatus, methods, andcomputer readable storage media are configured to interact with acontent object stored in an external content management data source. Acomputing device such as a server may access a content object stored ina content management data source, where the content management datasource is external to the on-demand database service, and where theinformation data identifying the content object is stored in apersistent object in a database of the on-demand database service, thepersistent object representing the content object. The computing devicemay receive an indication of an event requesting interaction with thecontent object. The persistent object may be updated to reflect theinteraction with the content object.

Some implementations of the disclosed systems, apparatus, methods, andcomputer readable storage media are configured to identify a categoryassociated with a persistent object in an on-demand database service. Acomputing device such as a server may receive information dataidentifying a content object from an on-demand database service, wherethe content object is stored in a content management data sourceexternal to the on-demand database service. Access may be establishedwith the content object to retrieve data regarding the content object.The data regarding the content object may be stored in a persistentobject in a database of the on-demand database service, where thepersistent object represents the content object in the on-demanddatabase service and includes information data identifying the contentobject. A selectable component for the persistent object is provided toa display device operable to display the selectable component in a userinterface for the on-demand database service. At least one categoryassociated with the persistent object is identified, the identifiedcategory configured to be stored in a data entry among a plurality ofdata entries in the database of the on-demand database service.

As more and more users and organizations move toward more collaborativesharing models to communicate and conduct business, there is a desire tobetter access, expose, integrate, and utilize content. Content may befragmented across a number of data sources outside of an on-demanddatabase service. For example, the on-demand database service may beoperated by or on behalf of a first service provider, such as anorganization or other type of entity, while the “outside” data sourcesare operated by or on behalf of a different second service provider.Conventionally, access to such content and sharing such content may belimited in an online social network or online business application,since different service providers generally have different andseparately maintained security models restricting access to theirrespective services.

Some of the implementations described herein are directed to providingaccess to external content stored in an external data source, where“external” can refer to data sources maintained by other entities thanthe service provider providing a given on-demand database service. Oneor more middleware components may facilitate access to the external datasources, including external content management data sources.Communication may be established with the external content managementdata sources through repository-specific connectors, and communicationwith the repository-specific connectors may occur through one or moreabstraction layers and/or one or more virtual objects. Connectionbetween a content object in the external content management data sourceand the on-demand database service may be instantiated. In someimplementations, the one or more middleware components may be configuredto traverse a security layer between the on-demand database service andan on-premise content management data source. A unique and persistentrepresentation of the content object may be stored as a persistentobject in a database of the on-demand database service.

Data regarding the accessed content object may be stored in thepersistent object in the on-demand database service. A persistent objectbehaves like a record stored in the on-demand database service. Apersistent object can correspond to an external content object and allowan entity to access the external content object via a URL or uniquecontent object identifier (ID). In some instances, the external contentobject can be accessed through the persistent object without moving orreplicating the external content object. The persistent object caninclude some attributes of the external content object as well as otherattributes described in greater detail below. In some instances, thepersistent object may not be synchronized with the external contentobject.

The persistent object can be indexed, searched, commented upon,recommended to other users, liked, disliked, followed, shared, accessed,propagated, edited, updated, deleted, and otherwise interacted with inthe on-demand database service. Because the persistent object is part ofthe on-demand database service, such as an online social network, thepersistent object allows data regarding the content object to be shared,accessed, viewed, modified, collaborated upon, and otherwise interactedwith in the context of an online social network. Interactions with thecontent object may be performed through a temporarily created virtualobject. Requests to modify the content object may occur through theon-demand database service directly or through a notification of amodification of the content object from the external content managementdata source. Updates to the content object may be reflected in thepersistent object.

One or more categories associated with the persistent object may bestored as one or more data entries in an index of categories, where theone or more categories can be topics associated with the persistentobject. The topics can be determined using a social intelligence enginethat analyzes data regarding the content object, such as the contents ofthe content object or the metadata associated with the content object.In addition, identification of appropriate topics may be based in parton data information ascertained from the social layer in which thepersistent object is provided. Identification of appropriate topics canbe further reinforced by event-based data, including user interactiondata with respect to the persistent object. For example, the socialintelligence engine can analyze selection of the persistent object froma search query or analyze attribute information of users that accessedthe content object. Data gathered in the analysis can be used to predictand deliver the persistent object to users in the on-demand databaseservice that would likely find the content object interesting, useful,and/or relevant.

By way of an example, a user in Chatter® or other online social networkmay have files stored in Dropbox, SharePoint, and other contentmanagement repositories. By implementing the one or more middlewarecomponents described above, which can be referred to as “content hub,”the user in Chatter® can establish access to such files without havingto have Chatter® host the content itself. The user can post any of thosefiles in a feed or other social layer, thereby enabling other users withappropriate permissions to access and otherwise interact with the postedfiles as if the files were native to Chatter®. Interactions with theposted files in Chatter® can be written and saved to the files stored inDropbox, SharePoint, etc. As the posted files are incorporated in thesocial environment, information regarding the files can be ascertainedand delivered to other users in Chatter® that may find the filesinteresting, useful, and/or relevant.

These and other implementations may be embodied in various types ofhardware, software, firmware, and combinations thereof. For example,some techniques disclosed herein may be implemented, at least in part,by computer-readable media that include program instructions, stateinformation, etc., for performing various services and operationsdescribed herein. Examples of program instructions include both machinecode, such as produced by a compiler, and files containing higher-levelcode that may be executed by a computing device such as a server orother data processing apparatus using an interpreter. Examples ofcomputer-readable media include, but are not limited to, magnetic mediasuch as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape; optical media suchas CD-ROM disks; magneto-optical media; and hardware devices that arespecially configured to store program instructions, such as read-onlymemory (“ROM”) devices and random access memory (“RAM”) devices. Theseand other features of the disclosed implementations will be described inmore detail below with reference to the associated drawings.

The term “multi-tenant database system” can refer to those systems inwhich various elements of hardware and software of a database system maybe shared by one or more customers. For example, a given applicationserver may simultaneously process requests for a great number ofcustomers, and a given database table may store rows of data such asfeed items for a potentially much greater number of customers. The term“query plan” generally refers to one or more operations used to accessinformation in a database system.

A “user profile” or “user's profile” is generally configured to storeand maintain data about a given user of the database system. The datacan include general information, such as name, title, phone number, aphoto, a biographical summary, and a status, e.g., text describing whatthe user is currently doing. As mentioned below, the data can includemessages created by other users. Where there are multiple tenants, auser is typically associated with a particular tenant. For example, auser could be a salesperson of a company, which is a tenant of thedatabase system that provides a database service.

The term “record” generally refers to a data entity, such as an instanceof a data object created by a user of the database service, for example,about a particular (actual or potential) business relationship orproject. The data object can have a data structure defined by thedatabase service (a standard object) or defined by a user (customobject). For example, a record can be for a business partner orpotential business partner (e.g., a client, vendor, distributor, etc.)of the user, and can include information describing an entire company,subsidiaries, or contacts at the company. As another example, a recordcan be a project that the user is working on, such as an opportunity(e.g., a possible sale) with an existing partner, or a project that theuser is trying to get. In one implementation of a multi-tenant databasesystem, each record for the tenants has a unique identifier stored in acommon table. A record has data fields that are defined by the structureof the object (e.g., fields of certain data types and purposes). Arecord can also have custom fields defined by a user. A field can beanother record or include links thereto, thereby providing aparent-child relationship between the records.

The terms “information feed” and “feed” are used interchangeably hereinand generally refer to a combination (e.g., a list) of feed items orentries with various types of information and data. Such feed items canbe stored and maintained in one or more database tables, e.g., as rowsin the table(s), that can be accessed to retrieve relevant informationto be presented as part of a displayed feed. The term “feed item” (orfeed element) refers to an item of information, which can be presentedin the feed such as a post submitted by a user. Feed items ofinformation about a user can be presented in a user's profile feed ofthe database, while feed items of information about a record can bepresented in a record feed in the database, by way of example. A profilefeed and a record feed are examples of different information feeds. Asecond user following a first user and a record can receive the feeditems associated with the first user and the record for display in thesecond user's news feed, which is another type of information feed. Insome implementations, the feed items from any number of followed usersand records can be combined into a single information feed of aparticular user.

As examples, a feed item can be a message, such as a user-generated postof text data, and a feed tracked update to a record or profile, such asa change to a field of the record. Feed tracked updates are described ingreater detail below. A feed can be a combination of messages and feedtracked updates. Messages include text created by a user, and mayinclude other data as well. Examples of messages include posts, userstatus updates, and comments. Messages can be created for a user'sprofile or for a record. Posts can be created by various users,potentially any user, although some restrictions can be applied. As anexample, posts can be made to a wall section of a user's profile page(which can include a number of recent posts) or a section of a recordthat includes multiple posts. The posts can be organized inchronological order when displayed in a graphical user interface (GUI),for instance, on the user's profile page, as part of the user's profilefeed. In contrast to a post, a user status update changes a status of auser and can be made by that user or an administrator. A record can alsohave a status, the update of which can be provided by an owner of therecord or other users having suitable write access permissions to therecord. The owner can be a single user, multiple users, or a group. Inone implementation, there is only one status for a record.

In some implementations, a comment can be made on any feed item. In someimplementations, comments are organized as a list explicitly tied to aparticular feed tracked update, post, or status update. In someimplementations, comments may not be listed in the first layer (in ahierarchal sense) of feed items, but listed as a second layer branchingfrom a particular first layer feed item.

A “feed tracked update,” also referred to herein as a “feed update,” isone type of information update and generally refers to data representingan event. A feed tracked update can include text generated by thedatabase system in response to the event, to be provided as one or morefeed items for possible inclusion in one or more feeds. In oneimplementation, the data can initially be stored, and then the databasesystem can later use the data to create text for describing the event.Both the data and/or the text can be a feed tracked update, as usedherein. In various implementations, an event can be an update of arecord and/or can be triggered by a specific action by a user. Whichactions trigger an event can be configurable. Which events have feedtracked updates created and which feed updates are sent to which userscan also be configurable. Messages and feed updates can be stored as afield or child object of the record. For example, the feed can be storedas a child object of the record.

A “group” is generally a collection of users. In some implementations,the group may be defined as users with a same or similar attribute, orby membership. In some implementations, a “group feed”, also referred toherein as a “group news feed”, includes one or more feed items about anyuser in the group. In some implementations, the group feed also includesinformation updates and other feed items that are about the group as awhole, the group's purpose, the group's description, and group recordsand other objects stored in association with the group. Threads ofinformation updates including group record updates and messages, such asposts, comments, likes, etc., can define group conversations and changeover time.

An “entity feed” or “record feed” generally refers to a feed of feeditems about a particular record in the database, such as feed trackedupdates about changes to the record and posts made by users about therecord. An entity feed can be composed of any type of feed item. Such afeed can be displayed on a page such as a web page associated with therecord, e.g., a home page of the record. As used herein, a “profilefeed” or “user's profile feed” is a feed of feed items about aparticular user. In one example, the feed items for a profile feedinclude posts and comments that other users make about or send to theparticular user, and status updates made by the particular user. Such aprofile feed can be displayed on a page associated with the particularuser. In another example, feed items in a profile feed could includeposts made by the particular user and feed tracked updates initiatedbased on actions of the particular user.

I. General Overview

Systems, apparatus, and methods are provided for implementing enterpriselevel social and business information networking. Such implementationscan provide more efficient use of a database system. For instance, auser of a database system may not easily know when important informationin the database has changed, e.g., about a project or client.Implementations can provide feed tracked updates about such changes andother events, thereby keeping users informed.

By way of example, a user can update a record, e.g., an opportunity suchas a possible sale of 1000 computers. Once the record update has beenmade, a feed tracked update about the record update can thenautomatically be provided, e.g., in a feed, to anyone subscribing to theopportunity or to the user. Thus, the user does not need to contact amanager regarding the change in the opportunity, since the feed trackedupdate about the update is sent via a feed right to the manager's feedpage or other page.

Next, mechanisms and methods for providing systems implementingenterprise level social and business information networking will bedescribed with reference to several implementations. First, an overviewof an example of a database system is described, and then examples oftracking events for a record, actions of a user, and messages about auser or record are described. Various implementations about the datastructure of feeds, customizing feeds, user selection of records andusers to follow, generating feeds, and displaying feeds are alsodescribed.

II. System Overview

FIG. 1A shows a block diagram of an example of an environment 10 inwhich an on-demand database service can be used in accordance with someimplementations. Environment 10 may include user systems 12, network 14,database system 16, processor system 17, application platform 18,network interface 20, tenant data storage 22, system data storage 24,program code 26, and process space 28. In other implementations,environment 10 may not have all of these components and/or may haveother components instead of, or in addition to, those listed above.

Environment 10 is an environment in which an on-demand database serviceexists. User system 12 may be implemented as any computing device(s) orother data processing apparatus such as a machine or system that is usedby a user to access a database system 16. For example, any of usersystems 12 can be a handheld computing device, a mobile phone, a laptopcomputer, a work station, and/or a network of such computing devices. Asillustrated in FIG. 1A (and in more detail in FIG. 1B) user systems 12might interact via a network 14 with an on-demand database service,which is implemented in the example of FIG. 1A as database system 16.

An on-demand database service, implemented using system 16 by way ofexample, is a service that is made available to outside users, who donot need to necessarily be concerned with building and/or maintainingthe database system. Instead, the database system may be available fortheir use when the users need the database system, i.e., on the demandof the users. Some on-demand database services may store informationfrom one or more tenants into tables of a common database image to forma multi-tenant database system (MTS). A database image may include oneor more database objects. A relational database management system(RDBMS) or the equivalent may execute storage and retrieval ofinformation against the database object(s). Application platform 18 maybe a framework that allows the applications of system 16 to run, such asthe hardware and/or software, e.g., the operating system. In someimplementations, application platform 18 enables creation, managing andexecuting one or more applications developed by the provider of theon-demand database service, users accessing the on-demand databaseservice via user systems 12, or third party application developersaccessing the on-demand database service via user systems 12.

The users of user systems 12 may differ in their respective capacities,and the capacity of a particular user system 12 might be entirelydetermined by permissions (permission levels) for the current user. Forexample, where a salesperson is using a particular user system 12 tointeract with system 16, that user system has the capacities allotted tothat salesperson. However, while an administrator is using that usersystem to interact with system 16, that user system has the capacitiesallotted to that administrator. In systems with a hierarchical rolemodel, users at one permission level may have access to applications,data, and database information accessible by a lower permission leveluser, but may not have access to certain applications, databaseinformation, and data accessible by a user at a higher permission level.Thus, different users will have different capabilities with regard toaccessing and modifying application and database information, dependingon a user's security or permission level, also called authorization.

Network 14 is any network or combination of networks of devices thatcommunicate with one another. For example, network 14 can be any one orany combination of a LAN (local area network), WAN (wide area network),telephone network, wireless network, point-to-point network, starnetwork, token ring network, hub network, or other appropriateconfiguration. Network 14 can include a TCP/IP (Transfer ControlProtocol and Internet Protocol) network, such as the global internetworkof networks often referred to as the “Internet” with a capital “I.” TheInternet will be used in many of the examples herein. However, it shouldbe understood that the networks that the present implementations mightuse are not so limited, although TCP/IP is a frequently implementedprotocol.

User systems 12 might communicate with system 16 using TCP/IP and, at ahigher network level, use other common Internet protocols tocommunicate, such as HTTP, FTP, AFS, WAP, etc. In an example where HTTPis used, user system 12 might include an HTTP client commonly referredto as a “browser” for sending and receiving HTTP signals to and from anHTTP server at system 16. Such an HTTP server might be implemented asthe sole network interface 20 between system 16 and network 14, butother techniques might be used as well or instead. In someimplementations, the network interface 20 between system 16 and network14 includes load sharing functionality, such as round-robin HTTP requestdistributors to balance loads and distribute incoming HTTP requestsevenly over a plurality of servers. At least for users accessing system16, each of the plurality of servers has access to the MTS' data;however, other alternative configurations may be used instead.

In one implementation, system 16, shown in FIG. 1A, implements aweb-based customer relationship management (CRM) system. For example, inone implementation, system 16 includes application servers configured toimplement and execute CRM software applications as well as providerelated data, code, forms, web pages and other information to and fromuser systems 12 and to store to, and retrieve from, a database systemrelated data, objects, and Webpage content. With a multi-tenant system,data for multiple tenants may be stored in the same physical databaseobject in tenant data storage 22, however, tenant data typically isarranged in the storage medium(s) of tenant data storage 22 so that dataof one tenant is kept logically separate from that of other tenants sothat one tenant does not have access to another tenant's data, unlesssuch data is expressly shared. In certain implementations, system 16implements applications other than, or in addition to, a CRMapplication. For example, system 16 may provide tenant access tomultiple hosted (standard and custom) applications, including a CRMapplication. User (or third party developer) applications, which may ormay not include CRM, may be supported by the application platform 18,which manages creation, storage of the applications into one or moredatabase objects and executing of the applications in a virtual machinein the process space of the system 16.

One arrangement for elements of system 16 is shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B,including a network interface 20, application platform 18, tenant datastorage 22 for tenant data 23, system data storage 24 for system data 25accessible to system 16 and possibly multiple tenants, program code 26for implementing various functions of system 16, and a process space 28for executing MTS system processes and tenant-specific processes, suchas running applications as part of an application hosting service.Additional processes that may execute on system 16 include databaseindexing processes.

Several elements in the system shown in FIG. 1A include conventional,well-known elements that are explained only briefly here. For example,each user system 12 could include a desktop personal computer,workstation, laptop, PDA, cell phone, or any wireless access protocol(WAP) enabled device or any other computing device capable ofinterfacing directly or indirectly to the Internet or other networkconnection. The term “computing device” is also referred to hereinsimply as a “computer”. User system 12 typically runs an HTTP client,e.g., a browsing program, such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser,Netscape's Navigator browser, Opera's browser, or a WAP-enabled browserin the case of a cell phone, PDA or other wireless device, or the like,allowing a user (e.g., subscriber of the multi-tenant database system)of user system 12 to access, process and view information, pages andapplications available to it from system 16 over network 14. Each usersystem 12 also typically includes one or more user input devices, suchas a keyboard, a mouse, trackball, touch pad, touch screen, pen or thelike, for interacting with a graphical user interface (GUI) provided bythe browser on a display (e.g., a monitor screen, LCD display, etc.) ofthe computing device in conjunction with pages, forms, applications andother information provided by system 16 or other systems or servers. Forexample, the user interface device can be used to access data andapplications hosted by system 16, and to perform searches on storeddata, and otherwise allow a user to interact with various GUI pages thatmay be presented to a user. As discussed above, implementations aresuitable for use with the Internet, although other networks can be usedinstead of or in addition to the Internet, such as an intranet, anextranet, a virtual private network (VPN), a non-TCP/IP based network,any LAN or WAN or the like.

According to one implementation, each user system 12 and all of itscomponents are operator configurable using applications, such as abrowser, including computer code run using a central processing unitsuch as an Intel Pentium® processor or the like. Similarly, system 16(and additional instances of an MTS, where more than one is present) andall of its components might be operator configurable usingapplication(s) including computer code to run using processor system 17,which may be implemented to include a central processing unit, which mayinclude an Intel Pentium® processor or the like, and/or multipleprocessor units. Non-transitory computer-readable media can haveinstructions stored thereon/in, that can be executed by or used toprogram a computing device to perform any of the methods of theimplementations described herein. Computer program code 26 implementinginstructions for operating and configuring system 16 to intercommunicateand to process web pages, applications and other data and media contentas described herein is preferably downloadable and stored on a harddisk, but the entire program code, or portions thereof, may also bestored in any other volatile or non-volatile memory medium or device asis well known, such as a ROM or RAM, or provided on any media capable ofstoring program code, such as any type of rotating media includingfloppy disks, optical discs, digital versatile disk (DVD), compact disk(CD), microdrive, and magneto-optical disks, and magnetic or opticalcards, nanosystems (including molecular memory ICs), or any other typeof computer-readable medium or device suitable for storing instructionsand/or data. Additionally, the entire program code, or portions thereof,may be transmitted and downloaded from a software source over atransmission medium, e.g., over the Internet, or from another server, asis well known, or transmitted over any other conventional networkconnection as is well known (e.g., extranet, VPN, LAN, etc.) using anycommunication medium and protocols (e.g., TCP/IP, HTTP, HTTPS, Ethernet,etc.) as are well known. It will also be appreciated that computer codefor the disclosed implementations can be realized in any programminglanguage that can be executed on a client system and/or server or serversystem such as, for example, C, C++, HTML, any other markup language,Java™, JavaScript, ActiveX, any other scripting language, such asVBScript, and many other programming languages as are well known may beused. (Java™ is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.).

According to some implementations, each system 16 is configured toprovide web pages, forms, applications, data and media content to user(client) systems 12 to support the access by user systems 12 as tenantsof system 16. As such, system 16 provides security mechanisms to keepeach tenant's data separate unless the data is shared. If more than oneMTS is used, they may be located in close proximity to one another(e.g., in a server farm located in a single building or campus), or theymay be distributed at locations remote from one another (e.g., one ormore servers located in city A and one or more servers located in cityB). As used herein, each MTS could include one or more logically and/orphysically connected servers distributed locally or across one or moregeographic locations. Additionally, the term “server” is meant to referto a computing device or system, including processing hardware andprocess space(s), an associated storage medium such as a memory deviceor database, and, in some instances, a database application (e.g.,OODBMS or RDBMS) as is well known in the art. It should also beunderstood that “server system” and “server” are often usedinterchangeably herein. Similarly, the database objects described hereincan be implemented as single databases, a distributed database, acollection of distributed databases, a database with redundant online oroffline backups or other redundancies, etc., and might include adistributed database or storage network and associated processingintelligence.

FIG. 1B shows a block diagram of an example of some implementations ofelements of FIG. 1A and various possible interconnections between theseelements. That is, FIG. 1B also illustrates environment 10. However, inFIG. 1B elements of system 16 and various interconnections in someimplementations are further illustrated. FIG. 1B shows that user system12 may include processor system 12A, memory system 12B, input system12C, and output system 12D. FIG. 1B shows network 14 and system 16. FIG.1B also shows that system 16 may include tenant data storage 22, tenantdata 23, system data storage 24, system data 25, User Interface (UI) 30,Application Program Interface (API) 32, PL/SOQL 34, save routines 36,application setup mechanism 38, applications servers 1001-100N, systemprocess space 102, tenant process spaces 104, tenant management processspace 110, tenant storage space 112, user storage 114, and applicationmetadata 116. In other implementations, environment 10 may not have thesame elements as those listed above and/or may have other elementsinstead of, or in addition to, those listed above.

User system 12, network 14, system 16, tenant data storage 22, andsystem data storage 24 were discussed above in FIG. 1A. Regarding usersystem 12, processor system 12A may be any combination of one or moreprocessors. Memory system 12B may be any combination of one or morememory devices, short term, and/or long term memory. Input system 12Cmay be any combination of input devices, such as one or more keyboards,mice, trackballs, scanners, cameras, and/or interfaces to networks.Output system 12D may be any combination of output devices, such as oneor more monitors, printers, and/or interfaces to networks. As shown byFIG. 1B, system 16 may include a network interface 20 (of FIG. 1A)implemented as a set of HTTP application servers 100, an applicationplatform 18, tenant data storage 22, and system data storage 24. Alsoshown is system process space 102, including individual tenant processspaces 104 and a tenant management process space 110. Each applicationserver 100 may be configured to communicate with tenant data storage 22and the tenant data 23 therein, and system data storage 24 and thesystem data 25 therein to serve requests of user systems 12. The tenantdata 23 might be divided into individual tenant storage spaces 112,which can be either a physical arrangement and/or a logical arrangementof data. Within each tenant storage space 112, user storage 114 andapplication metadata 116 might be similarly allocated for each user. Forexample, a copy of a user's most recently used (MRU) items might bestored to user storage 114. Similarly, a copy of MRU items for an entireorganization that is a tenant might be stored to tenant storage space112. A UI 30 provides a user interface and an API 32 provides anapplication programmer interface to system 16 resident processes tousers and/or developers at user systems 12. The tenant data and thesystem data may be stored in various databases, such as one or moreOracle| databases.

Application platform 18 includes an application setup mechanism 38 thatsupports application developers' creation and management ofapplications, which may be saved as metadata into tenant data storage 22by save routines 36 for execution by subscribers as one or more tenantprocess spaces 104 managed by tenant management process 110 for example.Invocations to such applications may be coded using PL/SOQL 34 thatprovides a programming language style interface extension to API 32. Adetailed description of some PL/SOQL language implementations isdiscussed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 7,730,478, titled METHODAND SYSTEM FOR ALLOWING ACCESS TO DEVELOPED APPLICATIONS VIA AMULTI-TENANT ON-DEMAND DATABASE SERVICE, by Craig Weissman, issued onJun. 1, 2010, and hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety andfor all purposes. Invocations to applications may be detected by one ormore system processes, which manage retrieving application metadata 116for the subscriber making the invocation and executing the metadata asan application in a virtual machine.

Each application server 100 may be communicably coupled to databasesystems, e.g., having access to system data 25 and tenant data 23, via adifferent network connection. For example, one application server 1001might be coupled via the network 14 (e.g., the Internet), anotherapplication server 100N-1 might be coupled via a direct network link,and another application server 100N might be coupled by yet a differentnetwork connection. Transfer Control Protocol and Internet Protocol(TCP/IP) are typical protocols for communicating between applicationservers 100 and the database system. However, it will be apparent to oneskilled in the art that other transport protocols may be used tooptimize the system depending on the network interconnect used.

In certain implementations, each application server 100 is configured tohandle requests for any user associated with any organization that is atenant. Because it is desirable to be able to add and remove applicationservers from the server pool at any time for any reason, there ispreferably no server affinity for a user and/or organization to aspecific application server 100. In one implementation, therefore, aninterface system implementing a load balancing function (e.g., an F5Big-IP load balancer) is communicably coupled between the applicationservers 100 and the user systems 12 to distribute requests to theapplication servers 100. In one implementation, the load balancer uses aleast connections algorithm to route user requests to the applicationservers 100. Other examples of load balancing algorithms, such as roundrobin and observed response time, also can be used. For example, incertain implementations, three consecutive requests from the same usercould hit three different application servers 100, and three requestsfrom different users could hit the same application server 100. In thismanner, by way of example, system 16 is multi-tenant, wherein system 16handles storage of, and access to, different objects, data andapplications across disparate users and organizations.

As an example of storage, one tenant might be a company that employs asales force where each salesperson uses system 16 to manage their salesprocess. Thus, a user might maintain contact data, leads data, customerfollow-up data, performance data, goals and progress data, etc., allapplicable to that user's personal sales process (e.g., in tenant datastorage 22). In an example of a MTS arrangement, since all of the dataand the applications to access, view, modify, report, transmit,calculate, etc., can be maintained and accessed by a user system havingnothing more than network access, the user can manage his or her salesefforts and cycles from any of many different user systems. For example,if a salesperson is visiting a customer and the customer has Internetaccess in their lobby, the salesperson can obtain critical updates as tothat customer while waiting for the customer to arrive in the lobby.

While each user's data might be separate from other users' dataregardless of the employers of each user, some data might beorganization-wide data shared or accessible by a plurality of users orall of the users for a given organization that is a tenant. Thus, theremight be some data structures managed by system 16 that are allocated atthe tenant level while other data structures might be managed at theuser level. Because an MTS might support multiple tenants includingpossible competitors, the MTS should have security protocols that keepdata, applications, and application use separate. Also, because manytenants may opt for access to an MTS rather than maintain their ownsystem, redundancy, up-time, and backup are additional functions thatmay be implemented in the MTS. In addition to user-specific data andtenant-specific data, system 16 might also maintain system level datausable by multiple tenants or other data. Such system level data mightinclude industry reports, news, postings, and the like that are sharableamong tenants.

In certain implementations, user systems 12 (which may be clientsystems) communicate with application servers 100 to request and updatesystem-level and tenant-level data from system 16 that may involvesending one or more queries to tenant data storage 22 and/or system datastorage 24. System 16 (e.g., an application server 100 in system 16)automatically generates one or more SQL statements (e.g., one or moreSQL queries) that are designed to access the desired information. Systemdata storage 24 may generate query plans to access the requested datafrom the database.

Each database can generally be viewed as a collection of objects, suchas a set of logical tables, containing data fitted into predefinedcategories. A “table” is one representation of a data object, and may beused herein to simplify the conceptual description of objects and customobjects according to some implementations. It should be understood that“table” and “object” may be used interchangeably herein. Each tablegenerally contains one or more data categories logically arranged ascolumns or fields in a viewable schema. Each row or record of a tablecontains an instance of data for each category defined by the fields.For example, a CRM database may include a table that describes acustomer with fields for basic contact information such as name,address, phone number, fax number, etc. Another table might describe apurchase order, including fields for information such as customer,product, sale price, date, etc. In some multi-tenant database systems,standard entity tables might be provided for use by all tenants. For CRMdatabase applications, such standard entities might include tables forcase, account, contact, lead, and opportunity data objects, eachcontaining pre-defined fields. It should be understood that the word“entity” may also be used interchangeably herein with “object” and“table”.

In some multi-tenant database systems, tenants may be allowed to createand store custom objects, or they may be allowed to customize standardentities or objects, for example by creating custom fields for standardobjects, including custom index fields. Commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No.7,779,039, titled CUSTOM ENTITIES AND FIELDS IN A MULTI-TENANT DATABASESYSTEM, by Weissman et al., issued on Aug. 17, 2010, and herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety and for all purposes, teachessystems and methods for creating custom objects as well as customizingstandard objects in a multi-tenant database system. In certainimplementations, for example, all custom entity data rows are stored ina single multi-tenant physical table, which may contain multiple logicaltables per organization. It is transparent to customers that theirmultiple “tables” are in fact stored in one large table or that theirdata may be stored in the same table as the data of other customers.

FIG. 2A shows a system diagram illustrating an example of architecturalcomponents of an on-demand database service environment 200 according tosome implementations. A client machine located in the cloud 204,generally referring to one or more networks in combination, as describedherein, may communicate with the on-demand database service environmentvia one or more edge routers 208 and 212. A client machine can be any ofthe examples of user systems 12 described above. The edge routers maycommunicate with one or more core switches 220 and 224 via firewall 216.The core switches may communicate with a load balancer 228, which maydistribute server load over different pods, such as the pods 240 and244. The pods 240 and 244, which may each include one or more serversand/or other computing resources, may perform data processing and otheroperations used to provide on-demand services. Communication with thepods may be conducted via pod switches 232 and 236. Components of theon-demand database service environment may communicate with a databasestorage 256 via a database firewall 248 and a database switch 252.

As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, accessing an on-demand database serviceenvironment may involve communications transmitted among a variety ofdifferent hardware and/or software components. Further, the on-demanddatabase service environment 200 is a simplified representation of anactual on-demand database service environment. For example, while onlyone or two devices of each type are shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, someimplementations of an on-demand database service environment may includeanywhere from one to many devices of each type. Also, the on-demanddatabase service environment need not include each device shown in FIGS.2A and 2B, or may include additional devices not shown in FIGS. 2A and2B.

Moreover, one or more of the devices in the on-demand database serviceenvironment 200 may be implemented on the same physical device or ondifferent hardware. Some devices may be implemented using hardware or acombination of hardware and software. Thus, terms such as “dataprocessing apparatus,” “machine,” “server” and “device” as used hereinare not limited to a single hardware device, but rather include anyhardware and software configured to provide the described functionality.

The cloud 204 is intended to refer to a data network or plurality ofdata networks, often including the Internet. Client machines located inthe cloud 204 may communicate with the on-demand database serviceenvironment to access services provided by the on-demand databaseservice environment. For example, client machines may access theon-demand database service environment to retrieve, store, edit, and/orprocess information.

In some implementations, the edge routers 208 and 212 route packetsbetween the cloud 204 and other components of the on-demand databaseservice environment 200. The edge routers 208 and 212 may employ theBorder Gateway Protocol (BGP). The BGP is the core routing protocol ofthe Internet. The edge routers 208 and 212 may maintain a table of IPnetworks or ‘prefixes’, which designate network reachability amongautonomous systems on the Internet.

In one or more implementations, the firewall 216 may protect the innercomponents of the on-demand database service environment 200 fromInternet traffic. The firewall 216 may block, permit, or deny access tothe inner components of the on-demand database service environment 200based upon a set of rules and other criteria. The firewall 216 may actas one or more of a packet filter, an application gateway, a statefulfilter, a proxy server, or any other type of firewall.

In some implementations, the core switches 220 and 224 are high-capacityswitches that transfer packets within the on-demand database serviceenvironment 200. The core switches 220 and 224 may be configured asnetwork bridges that quickly route data between different componentswithin the on-demand database service environment. In someimplementations, the use of two or more core switches 220 and 224 mayprovide redundancy and/or reduced latency.

In some implementations, the pods 240 and 244 may perform the core dataprocessing and service functions provided by the on-demand databaseservice environment. Each pod may include various types of hardwareand/or software computing resources. An example of the pod architectureis discussed in greater detail with reference to FIG. 2B.

In some implementations, communication between the pods 240 and 244 maybe conducted via the pod switches 232 and 236. The pod switches 232 and236 may facilitate communication between the pods 240 and 244 and clientmachines located in the cloud 204, for example via core switches 220 and224. Also, the pod switches 232 and 236 may facilitate communicationbetween the pods 240 and 244 and the database storage 256.

In some implementations, the load balancer 228 may distribute workloadbetween the pods 240 and 244. Balancing the on-demand service requestsbetween the pods may assist in improving the use of resources,increasing throughput, reducing response times, and/or reducingoverhead. The load balancer 228 may include multilayer switches toanalyze and forward traffic.

In some implementations, access to the database storage 256 may beguarded by a database firewall 248. The database firewall 248 may act asa computer application firewall operating at the database applicationlayer of a protocol stack. The database firewall 248 may protect thedatabase storage 256 from application attacks such as structure querylanguage (SQL) injection, database rootkits, and unauthorizedinformation disclosure.

In some implementations, the database firewall 248 may include a hostusing one or more forms of reverse proxy services to proxy trafficbefore passing it to a gateway router. The database firewall 248 mayinspect the contents of database traffic and block certain content ordatabase requests. The database firewall 248 may work on the SQLapplication level atop the TCP/IP stack, managing applications'connection to the database or SQL management interfaces as well asintercepting and enforcing packets traveling to or from a databasenetwork or application interface.

In some implementations, communication with the database storage 256 maybe conducted via the database switch 252. The multi-tenant databasestorage 256 may include more than one hardware and/or softwarecomponents for handling database queries. Accordingly, the databaseswitch 252 may direct database queries transmitted by other componentsof the on-demand database service environment (e.g., the pods 240 and244) to the correct components within the database storage 256.

In some implementations, the database storage 256 is an on-demanddatabase system shared by many different organizations. The on-demanddatabase system may employ a multi-tenant approach, a virtualizedapproach, or any other type of database approach. An on-demand databasesystem is discussed in greater detail with reference to FIGS. 1A and 1B.

FIG. 2B shows a system diagram further illustrating an example ofarchitectural components of an on-demand database service environmentaccording to some implementations. The pod 244 may be used to renderservices to a user of the on-demand database service environment 200. Insome implementations, each pod may include a variety of servers and/orother systems. The pod 244 includes one or more content batch servers264, content search servers 268, query servers 282, file force servers286, access control system (ACS) servers 280, batch servers 284, and appservers 288. Also, the pod 244 includes database instances 290, quickfile systems (QFS) 292, and indexers 294. In one or moreimplementations, some or all communication between the servers in thepod 244 may be transmitted via the switch 236.

In some implementations, the app servers 288 may include a hardwareand/or software framework dedicated to the execution of procedures(e.g., programs, routines, scripts) for supporting the construction ofapplications provided by the on-demand database service environment 200via the pod 244. In some implementations, the hardware and/or softwareframework of an app server 288 is configured to execute operations ofthe services described herein, including performance of the blocks ofmethods described with reference to FIGS. 15-40. In alternativeimplementations, two or more app servers 288 may be included andcooperate to perform such methods, or one or more other serversdescribed herein can be configured to perform the disclosed methods.

The content batch servers 264 may handle requests internal to the pod.These requests may be long-running and/or not tied to a particularcustomer. For example, the content batch servers 264 may handle requestsrelated to log mining, cleanup work, and maintenance tasks.

The content search servers 268 may provide query and indexer functions.For example, the functions provided by the content search servers 268may allow users to search through content stored in the on-demanddatabase service environment.

The file force servers 286 may manage requests for information stored inthe Fileforce storage 298. The Fileforce storage 298 may storeinformation such as documents, images, and basic large objects (BLOBs).By managing requests for information using the file force servers 286,the image footprint on the database may be reduced.

The query servers 282 may be used to retrieve information from one ormore file systems. For example, the query system 282 may receiverequests for information from the app servers 288 and then transmitinformation queries to the NFS 296 located outside the pod.

The pod 244 may share a database instance 290 configured as amulti-tenant environment in which different organizations share accessto the same database. Additionally, services rendered by the pod 244 maycall upon various hardware and/or software resources. In someimplementations, the ACS servers 280 may control access to data,hardware resources, or software resources.

In some implementations, the batch servers 284 may process batch jobs,which are used to run tasks at specified times. Thus, the batch servers284 may transmit instructions to other servers, such as the app servers288, to trigger the batch jobs.

In some implementations, the QFS 292 may be an open source file systemavailable from Sun Microsystems® of Santa Clara, Calif. The QFS mayserve as a rapid-access file system for storing and accessinginformation available within the pod 244. The QFS 292 may support somevolume management capabilities, allowing many disks to be groupedtogether into a file system. File system metadata can be kept on aseparate set of disks, which may be useful for streaming applicationswhere long disk seeks cannot be tolerated. Thus, the QFS system maycommunicate with one or more content search servers 268 and/or indexers294 to identify, retrieve, move, and/or update data stored in thenetwork file systems 296 and/or other storage systems.

In some implementations, one or more query servers 282 may communicatewith the NFS 296 to retrieve and/or update information stored outside ofthe pod 244. The NFS 296 may allow servers located in the pod 244 toaccess information to access files over a network in a manner similar tohow local storage is accessed.

In some implementations, queries from the query servers 222 may betransmitted to the NFS 296 via the load balancer 228, which maydistribute resource requests over various resources available in theon-demand database service environment. The NFS 296 may also communicatewith the QFS 292 to update the information stored on the NFS 296 and/orto provide information to the QFS 292 for use by servers located withinthe pod 244.

In some implementations, the pod may include one or more databaseinstances 290. The database instance 290 may transmit information to theQFS 292. When information is transmitted to the QFS, it may be availablefor use by servers within the pod 244 without using an additionaldatabase call.

In some implementations, database information may be transmitted to theindexer 294. Indexer 294 may provide an index of information availablein the database 290 and/or QFS 292. The index information may beprovided to file force servers 286 and/or the QFS 292.

III. Tracking Updates to a Record Stored in a Database

As multiple users might be able to change the data of a record, it canbe useful for certain users to be notified when a record is updated.Also, even if a user does not have authority to change a record, theuser still might want to know when there is an update to the record. Forexample, a vendor may negotiate a new price with a salesperson ofcompany X, where the salesperson is a user associated with tenant Y. Aspart of creating a new invoice or for accounting purposes, thesalesperson can change the price saved in the database. It may beimportant for co-workers to know that the price has changed. Thesalesperson could send an email to certain people, but this is onerousand the salesperson might not email all of the people who need to knowor want to know. Accordingly, some implementations of the disclosedtechniques can inform others (e.g., co-workers) who want to know aboutan update to a record automatically.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of an example of a method 300 for trackingupdates to a record stored in a database system, performed in accordancewith some implementations. Method 300 (and other methods describedherein) may be implemented at least partially with multi-tenant databasesystem 16, e.g., by one or more processors configured to receive orretrieve information, process the information, store results, andtransmit the results. In other implementations, method 300 may beimplemented at least partially with a single tenant database system. Invarious implementations, blocks may be omitted, combined, or split intoadditional blocks for method 300, as well as for other methods describedherein.

In block 310, the database system receives a request to update a firstrecord. In one implementation, the request is received from a firstuser. For example, a user may be accessing a page associated with thefirst record, and may change a displayed field and hit save. In anotherimplementation, the database system can automatically create therequest. For instance, the database system can create the request inresponse to another event, e.g., a request to change a field could besent periodically at a particular date and/or time of day, or a changeto another field or object. The database system can obtain a new valuebased on other fields of a record and/or based on parameters in thesystem.

The request for the update of a field of a record is an example of anevent associated with the first record for which a feed tracked updatemay be created. In other implementations, the database system canidentify other events besides updates to fields of a record. Forexample, an event can be a submission of approval to change a field.Such an event can also have an associated field (e.g., a field showing astatus of whether a change has been submitted). Other examples of eventscan include creation of a record, deletion of a record, converting arecord from one type to another (e.g., converting a lead to anopportunity), closing a record (e.g., a case type record), andpotentially any other state change of a record—any of which couldinclude a field change associated with the state change. Any of theseevents update the record whether by changing a field of the record, astate of the record, or some other characteristic or property of therecord. In one implementation, a list of supported events for creating afeed tracked update can be maintained within the database system, e.g.,at a server or in a database.

In block 320, the database system writes new data to the first record.In one implementation, the new data may include a new value thatreplaces old data. For example, a field is updated with a new value. Inanother implementation, the new data can be a value for a field that didnot contain data before. In yet another implementation, the new datacould be a flag, e.g., for a status of the record, which can be storedas a field of the record.

In some implementations, a “field” can also include records, which arechild objects of the first record in a parent-child hierarchy. A fieldcan alternatively include a pointer to a child record. A child objectitself can include further fields. Thus, if a field of a child object isupdated with a new value, the parent record also can be considered tohave a field changed. In one example, a field could be a list of relatedchild objects, also called a related list.

In block 330, a feed tracked update is generated about the update to therecord. In one implementation, the feed tracked update is created inparts for assembling later into a display version. For example, evententries can be created and tracked in a first table, and changed fieldentries can be tracked in another table that is cross-referenced withthe first table. More specifics of such implementations are providedlater, e.g., with respect to FIG. 9A. In another implementation, thefeed tracked update is automatically generated by the database system.The feed tracked update can convey in words that the first record hasbeen updated and provide details about what was updated in the recordand who performed the update. In some implementations, a feed trackedupdate is generated for only certain types of event and/or updatesassociated with the first record.

In one implementation, a tenant (e.g., through an administrator) canconfigure the database system to create (enable) feed tracked updatesonly for certain types of records. For example, an administrator canspecify that records of designated types such as accounts andopportunities are enabled. When an update (or other event) is receivedfor the enabled record type, then a feed tracked update would begenerated. In another implementation, a tenant can also specify thefields of a record whose changes are to be tracked, and for which feedtracked updates are created. In one aspect, a maximum number of fieldscan be specified for tracking, and may include custom fields. In oneimplementation, the type of change can also be specified, for example,that the value change of a field is to be larger than a threshold (e.g.,an absolute amount or a percentage change). In yet anotherimplementation, a tenant can specify which events are to cause ageneration of a feed tracked update. Also, in one implementation,individual users can specify configurations specific to them, which cancreate custom feeds as described in more detail below.

In one implementation, changes to fields of a child object are nottracked to create feed tracked updates for the parent record. In anotherimplementation, the changes to fields of a child object can be trackedto create feed tracked updates for the parent record. For example, achild object of the parent type can be specified for tracking, andcertain fields of the child object can be specified for tracking. Asanother example, if the child object is of a type specified fortracking, then a tracked change for the child object is propagated toparent records of the child object.

In block 340, the feed tracked update is added to a feed for the firstrecord. In one implementation, adding the feed tracked update to a feedcan include adding events to a table (which may be specific to a recordor be for all or a group of objects), where a display version of a feedtracked update can be generated dynamically and presented in a GUI as afeed item when a user requests a feed for the first record. In anotherimplementation, a display version of a feed tracked update can be addedwhen a record feed is stored and maintained for a record. As mentionedabove, a feed may be maintained for only certain records. In oneimplementation, the feed of a record can be stored in the databaseassociated with the record. For example, the feed can be stored as afield (e.g., as a child object) of the record. Such a field can store apointer to the text to be displayed for the feed tracked update.

In some implementations, only the current feed tracked update (or othercurrent feed item) may be kept or temporarily stored, e.g., in sometemporary memory structure. For example, a feed tracked update for onlya most recent change to any particular field is kept. In otherimplementations, many previous feed tracked updates may be kept in thefeed. A time and/or date for each feed tracked update can be tracked.Herein, a feed of a record is also referred to as an entity feed, as arecord is an instance of a particular entity object of the database.

In block 350, followers of the first record can be identified. Afollower is a user following the first record, such as a subscriber tothe feed of the first record. In one implementation, when a userrequests a feed of a particular record, such an identification of block350 can be omitted. In another implementation where a record feed ispushed to a user (e.g., as part of a news feed), then the user can beidentified as a follower of the first record. Accordingly, this blockcan include the identification of records and other objects beingfollowed by a particular user.

In one implementation, the database system can store a list of thefollowers for a particular record. In various implementations, the listcan be stored with the first record or associated with the record usingan identifier (e.g., a pointer) to retrieve the list. For example, thelist can be stored in a field of the first record. In anotherimplementation, a list of the records that a user is following is used.In one implementation, the database system can have a routine that runsfor each user, where the routine polls the records in the list todetermine if a new feed tracked update has been added to a feed of therecord. In another implementation, the routine for the user can berunning at least partially on a user device, which contacts the databaseto perform the polling.

In block 360, in one implementation, the feed tracked update can bestored in a table, as described in greater detail below. When the useropens a feed, an appropriate query is sent to one or more tables toretrieve updates to records, also described in greater detail below. Insome implementations, the feed shows feed tracked updates in reversechronological order. In one implementation, the feed tracked update ispushed to the feed of a user, e.g., by a routine that determines thefollowers for the record from a list associated with the record. Inanother implementation, the feed tracked update is pulled to a feed,e.g., by a user device. This pulling may occur when a user requests thefeed, as occurs in block 370. Thus, these actions may occur in adifferent order. The creation of the feed for a pull may be a dynamiccreation that identifies records being followed by the requesting user,generates the display version of relevant feed tracked updates fromstored information (e.g., event and field change), and adds the feedtracked updates into the feed. A feed of feed tracked updates of recordsand other objects that a user is following is also generally referred toherein as a news feed, which can be a subset of a larger informationfeed in which other types of information updates appear, such as posts.

In yet another implementation, the feed tracked update could be sent asan email to the follower, instead of in a feed. In one implementation,email alerts for events can enable people to be emailed when certainevents occur. In another implementation, emails can be sent when thereare posts on a user profile and posts on entities to which the usersubscribes. In one implementation, a user can turn on/off email alertsfor all or some events. In an implementation, a user can specify whatkind of feed tracked updates to receive about a record that the user isfollowing. For example, a user can choose to only receive feed trackedupdates about certain fields of a record that the user is following, andpotentially about what kind of update was performed (e.g., a new valueinput into a specified field, or the creation of a new field).

In block 370, a follower can access his/her news feed to see the feedtracked update. In one implementation, the user has just one news feedfor all of the records that the user is following. In one aspect, a usercan access his/her own feed by selecting a particular tab or otherobject on a page of an interface to the database system. Once selectedthe feed can be provided as a list, e.g., with an identifier (e.g., atime) or including some or all of the text of the feed tracked update.In another implementation, the user can specify how the feed trackedupdates are to be displayed and/or sent to the user. For example, a usercan specify a font for the text, a location of where the feed can beselected and displayed, amount of text to be displayed, and other textor symbols to be displayed (e.g., importance flags).

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of an example of components of a databasesystem configuration 400 performing a method for tracking an update to arecord according to some implementations. Database system configuration400 can perform implementations of method 300, as well asimplementations of other methods described herein.

A first user 405 sends a request 1 to update record 425 in databasesystem 416. Although an update request is described, other events thatare being tracked are equally applicable. In various implementations,the request 1 can be sent via a user interface (e.g., 30 of FIG. 1B) oran application program interface (e.g., API 32). An I/O port 420 canaccommodate the signals of request 1 via any input interface, and sendthe signals to one or more processors 417. The processor 417 can analyzethe request and determine operations to be performed. Herein, anyreference to a processor 417 can refer to a specific processor or anyset of processors in database system 416, which can be collectivelyreferred to as processor 417.

Processor 417 can determine an identifier for record 425, and sendcommands with the new data 2 of the request to record database 412 toupdate record 425. In one implementation, record database 412 is wheretenant storage space 112 of FIG. 1B is located. The request 1 and newdata commands 2 can be encapsulated in a single write transaction sentto record database 412. In one implementation, multiple changes torecords in the database can be made in a single write transaction.

Processor 417 can also analyze request 1 to determine whether a feedtracked update is to be created, which at this point may includedetermining whether the event (e.g., a change to a particular field) isto be tracked. This determination can be based on an interaction (i.e.,an exchange of data) with record database 412 and/or other databases, orbased on information stored locally (e.g., in cache or RAM) at processor417. In one implementation, a list of record types that are beingtracked can be stored. The list may be different for each tenant, e.g.,as each tenant may configure the database system to its ownspecifications. Thus, if the record 425 is of a type not being tracked,then the determination of whether to create a feed tracked update canstop there.

The same list or a second list (which can be stored in a same locationor a different location) can also include the fields and/or events thatare tracked for the record types in the first list. This list can besearched to determine if the event is being tracked. A list may alsocontain information having the granularity of listing specific recordsthat are to be tracked (e.g., if a tenant can specify the particularrecords to be tracked, as opposed to just type).

As an example, processor 417 may obtain an identifier associated withrecord 425 (e.g., obtained from request 1 or database 412), potentiallyalong with a tenant identifier, and cross-reference the identifier witha list of records for which feed tracked updates are to be created.Specifically, the record identifier can be used to determine the recordtype and a list of tracked types can be searched for a match. Thespecific record may also be checked if such individual record trackingwas enabled. The name of the field to be changed can also be used tosearch a list of tracking-enabled fields. Other criteria besides fieldand events can be used to determine whether a feed tracked update iscreated, e.g., type of change in the field. If a feed tracked update isto be generated, processor 417 can then generate the feed trackedupdate.

In some implementations, a feed tracked update is created dynamicallywhen a feed (e.g., the entity feed of record 425) is requested. Thus, inone implementation, a feed tracked update can be created when a userrequests the entity feed for record 425. In this implementation, thefeed tracked update may be created (e.g., assembled), includingre-created, each time the entity feed is to be displayed to any user. Inone implementation, one or more event history tables can keep track ofprevious events so that the feed tracked update can be re-created.

In another implementation, a feed tracked update can be created at thetime the event occurs, and the feed tracked update can be added to alist of feed items. The list of feed items may be specific to record425, or may be an aggregate of feed items including feed items for manyrecords. Such an aggregate list can include a record identifier so thatthe feed items for the entity feed of record 425 can be easilyretrieved. For example, after the feed tracked update has beengenerated, processor 417 can add the new feed tracked update 3 to a feedof record 425. As mentioned above, in one implementation, the feed canbe stored in a field (e.g., as a child object) of record 425. In anotherimplementation, the feed can be stored in another location or in anotherdatabase, but with a link (e.g., a connecting identifier) to record 425.The feed can be organized in various ways, e.g., as a linked list, anarray, or other data structure.

A second user 430 can access the new feed tracked update 3 in variousways. In one implementation, second user 430 can send a request 4 forthe record feed. For example, second user 430 can access a home page(detail page) of the record 425 (e.g., with a query or by browsing), andthe feed can be obtained through a tab, button, or other activationobject on the page. The feed can be displayed on the screen ordownloaded.

In another implementation, processor 417 can add the new feed trackedupdate 5 to a feed (e.g., a news feed) of a user that is followingrecord 425. In one implementation, processor 417 can determine each ofthe followers of record 425 by accessing a list of the users that havebeen registered as followers. This determination can be done for eachnew event (e.g., update 1). In another implementation, processor 417 canpoll (e.g., with a query) the records that second user 430 is followingto determine when new feed tracked updates (or other feed items) areavailable. Processor 417 can use a follower profile 435 of second user430 that can contain a list of the records that the second user 430 isfollowing. Such a list can be contained in other parts of the databaseas well. Second user 430 can then send a request 6 to his/her profile435 to obtain a feed, which contains the new feed tracked update. Theuser's profile 435 can be stored in a profile database 414, which can bethe same or different than database 412.

In some implementations, a user can define a news feed to include newfeed tracked updates from various records, which may be limited to amaximum number. In one implementation, each user has one news feed. Inanother implementation, the follower profile 435 can include thespecifications of each of the records to be followed (with the criteriafor what feed tracked updates are to be provided and how they aredisplayed), as well as the feed.

Some implementations can provide various types of record (entity) feeds.Entity Feeds can exist for record types like account, opportunity, case,and contact. An entity feed can tell a user about the actions thatpeople have taken on that particular record or on one its relatedrecords. The entity feed can include who made the action, which fieldwas changed, and the old and new values. In one implementation, entityfeeds can exist on all supported records as a list that is linked to thespecific record. For example, a feed could be stored in a field thatallows lists (e.g., linked lists) or as a child object.

IV. Tracking Actions of a User

In addition to knowing about events associated with a particular record,it can be helpful for a user to know what a particular user is doing. Inparticular, it might be nice to know what the user is doing without theuser having to generate the feed tracked update (e.g., a user submittinga synopsis of what the user has done). Accordingly, implementations canautomatically track actions of a user that trigger events, and feedtracked updates can be generated for certain events.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of an example of a method 500 for trackingactions of a user of a database system, performed in accordance withsome implementations. Method 500 may be performed in addition to method300. The operations of method 300, including order of blocks, can beperformed in conjunction with method 500 and other methods describedherein. Thus, a feed can be composed of changes to a record and actionsof users.

In block 510, a database system (e.g., 16 of FIGS. 1A and 1B) identifiesan action of a first user. In one implementation, the action triggers anevent, and the event is identified. For example, the action of a userrequesting an update to a record can be identified, where the event isreceiving a request or is the resulting update of a record. The actionmay thus be defined by the resulting event. In another implementation,only certain types of actions (events) are identified. Which actions areidentified can be set as a default or can be configurable by a tenant,or even configurable at a user level. In this way, processing effort canbe reduced since only some actions are identified.

In block 520, it is determined whether the event qualifies for a feedtracked update. In one implementation, a predefined list of events(e.g., as mentioned herein) can be created so that only certain actionsare identified. In one implementation, an administrator (or other user)of a tenant can specify the type of actions (events) for which a feedtracked update is to be generated. This block may also be performed formethod 300.

In block 530, a feed tracked update is generated about the action. In anexample where the action is an update of a record, the feed trackedupdate can be similar or the same as the feed tracked update created forthe record. The description can be altered though to focus on the useras opposed to the record. For example, “John D. has closed a newopportunity for account XYZ” as opposed to “an opportunity has beenclosed for account XYZ.”

In block 540, the feed tracked update is added to a profile feed of thefirst user when, e.g., the user clicks on a tab to open a page in abrowser program displaying the feed. In one implementation, a feed for aparticular user can be accessed on a page of the user's profile, in asimilar manner as a record feed can be accessed on a detail page of therecord. In another implementation, the first user may not have a profilefeed and the feed tracked update may just be stored temporarily beforeproceeding. A profile feed of a user can be stored associated with theuser's profile. This profile feed can be added to a news feed of anotheruser.

In block 550, followers of the first user are identified. In oneimplementation, a user can specify which type of actions other users canfollow. Similarly, in one implementation, a follower can select whatactions by a user the follower wants to follow. In an implementationwhere different followers follow different types of actions, which usersare followers of that user and the particular action can be identified,e.g., using various lists that track what actions and criteria are beingfollowed by a particular user. In various implementations, the followersof the first user can be identified in a similar manner as followers ofa record, as described above for block 350.

In block 560, the feed tracked update is added to a news feed of eachfollower of the first user when, e.g., the follower clicks on a tab toopen a page displaying the news feed. The feed tracked update can beadded in a similar manner as the feed items for a record feed. The newsfeed can contain feed tracked updates both about users and records. Inanother implementation, a user can specify what kind of feed trackedupdates to receive about a user that the user is following. For example,a user could specify feed tracked updates with particular keywords, ofcertain types of records, of records owned or created by certain users,particular fields, and other criteria as mentioned herein.

In block 570, a follower accesses the news feed and sees the feedtracked update. In one implementation, the user has just one news feedfor all of the records that the user is following. In anotherimplementation, a user can access his/her own feed (i.e. feed abouthis/her own actions) by selecting a particular tab or other object on apage of an interface to the database system. Thus, a feed can includefeed tracked updates about what other users are doing in the databasesystem. When a user becomes aware of a relevant action of another user,the user can contact the co-worker, thereby fostering teamwork.

V. Generation of a Feed Tracked Update

As described above, some implementations can generate text describingevents (e.g., updates) that have occurred for a record and actions by auser that trigger an event. A database system can be configured togenerate the feed tracked updates for various events in various ways.

In one implementation, the feed tracked update is a grammaticalsentence, thereby being easily understandable by a person. In anotherimplementation, the feed tracked update provides detailed informationabout the update. In various examples, an old value and new value for afield may be included in the feed tracked update, an action for theupdate may be provided (e.g., submitted for approval), and the names ofparticular users that are responsible for replying or acting on the feedtracked update may be also provided. The feed tracked update can alsohave a level of importance based on settings chosen by theadministrator, a particular user requesting an update, or by a followinguser who is to receive the feed tracked update, which fields is updated,a percentage of the change in a field, the type of event, or anycombination of these factors.

The system may have a set of heuristics for creating a feed trackedupdate from the event (e.g., a request to update). For example, thesubject may be the user, the record, or a field being added or changed.The verb can be based on the action requested by the user, which can beselected from a list of verbs (which may be provided as defaults orinput by an administrator of a tenant). In one implementation, feedtracked updates can be generic containers with formatting restrictions,

As an example of a feed tracked update for a creation of a new record,“Mark Abramowitz created a new Opportunity for IBM—20,000 laptops withAmount as $3.5M and Sam Palmisano as Decision Maker.” This event can beposted to the profile feed for Mark Abramowitz and the entity feed forrecord of Opportunity for IBM—20,000 laptops. The pattern can be givenby (AgentFullName) created a new (ObjectName)(RecordName) with[(FieldName) as (FieldValue) [,/and] ]*[[added/changed/removed](RelatedListRecordName) [as/to/as] (RelatedListRecordValue) [,/and] ]*.Similar patterns can be formed for a changed field (standard or custom)and an added child record to a related list.

VI. Tracking Commentary from or about a User

Some implementations can also have a user submit text, instead of thedatabase system generating a feed tracked update. As the text issubmitted as part or all of a message by a user, the text can be aboutany topic. Thus, more information than just actions of a user and eventsof a record can be conveyed. In one implementation, the messages can beused to ask a question about a particular record, and users followingthe record can provide comments and responses.

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of an example of a method 600 for creating anews feed from messages created by a user about a record or anotheruser, performed in accordance with some implementations. In oneimplementation, method 600 can be combined with methods 300 and 500. Inone aspect, a message can be associated with the first user when thefirst user creates the message (e.g., a post or comment about a recordor another user). In another aspect, a message can be associated withthe first user when the message is about the first user (e.g., posted byanother user on the first user's profile feed).

In block 610, the database system receives a message (e.g., a post orstatus update) associated with a first user. The message (e.g., a postor status update) can contain text and/or multimedia content submittedby another user or by the first user. In one implementation, a post isfor a section of the first user's profile page where any user can add apost, and where multiple posts can exist. Thus, a post can appear on thefirst user's profile page and can be viewed when the first user'sprofile is visited. For a message about a record, the post can appear ona detail page of a record. Note the message can appear in other feeds aswell. In another implementation, a status update about the first usercan only be added by the first user. In one implementation, a user canonly have one status message.

In block 620, the message is added to a table, as described in greaterdetail below. When the feed is opened, a query filters one or moretables to identify the first user, identify other persons that the useris following, and retrieve the message. Messages and record updates arepresented in a combined list as the feed. In this way, in oneimplementation, the message can be added to a profile feed of the firstuser, which is associated (e.g., as a related list) with the firstuser's profile. In one implementation, the posts are listedindefinitely. In another implementation, only the most recent posts(e.g., last 50) are kept in the profile feed. Such implementations canalso be employed with feed tracked updates. In yet anotherimplementation, the message can be added to a profile of the user addingthe message.

In block 630, the database system identifies followers of the firstuser. In one implementation, the database system can identify thefollowers as described above for method 500. In various implementations,a follower can select to follow a feed about the actions of the firstuser, messages about the first user, or both (potentially in a samefeed).

In block 640, the message is added to a news feed of each follower. Inone implementation, the message is only added to a news feed of aparticular follower if the message matches some criteria, e.g., themessage includes a particular keyword or other criteria. In anotherimplementation, a message can be deleted by the user who created themessage. In one implementation, once deleted by the author, the messageis deleted from all feeds to which the message had been added.

In block 650, the follower accesses a news feed and sees the message.For example, the follower can access a news feed on the follower's ownprofile page. As another example, the follower can have a news feed sentto his/her own desktop without having to first go to a home page.

In block 660, the database system receives a comment about the message.The database system can add the comment to a feed of the same firstuser, much as the original message was added. In one implementation, thecomment can also be added to a feed of a second user who added thecomment. In one implementation, users can also reply to the comment. Inanother implementation, users can add comments to a feed tracked update,and further comments can be associated with the feed tracked update. Inyet another implementation, making a comment or message is not an actionto which a feed tracked update is created. Thus, the message may be theonly feed item created from such an action.

In one implementation, if a feed tracked update or post is deleted, itscorresponding comments are deleted as well. In another implementation,new comments on a feed tracked update or post do not update the feedtracked update timestamp. Also, the feed tracked update or post cancontinue to be shown in a feed (profile feed, record feed, or news feed)if it has had a comment within a specified timeframe (e.g., within thelast week). Otherwise, the feed tracked update or post can be removed inan implementation.

In some implementations, all or most feed tracked updates can becommented on. In other implementations, feed tracked updates for certainrecords (e.g., cases or ideas) are not commentable. In variousimplementations, comments can be made for any one or more records ofopportunities, accounts, contacts, leads, and custom objects.

In block 670, the comment is added to a news feed of each follower. Inone implementation, a user can make the comment within the user's newsfeed. Such a comment can propagate to the appropriate profile feed orrecord feed, and then to the news feeds of the following users. Thus,feeds can include what people are saying, as well as what they aredoing. In one aspect, feeds are a way to stay up-to-date (e.g., onusers, opportunities, etc.) as well as an opportunity to reach out toco-workers/partners and engage them around common goals.

In some implementations, users can rate feed tracked updates or messages(including comments). A user can choose to prioritize a display of afeed so that higher rated feed items show up higher on a display. Forexample, in an implementation where comments are answers to a specificquestion, users can rate the different status posts so that a bestanswer can be identified. As another example, users are able to quicklyidentify feed items that are most important as those feed items can bedisplayed at a top of a list. The order of the feed items can be basedon an importance level (which can be determined by the database systemusing various factors, some of which are mentioned herein) and based ona rating from users. In one implementation, the rating is on a scalethat includes at least 3 values. In another implementation, the ratingis based on a binary scale.

Besides a profile for a user, a group can also be created. In variousimplementations, the group can be created based on certain attributesthat are common to the users, can be created by inviting users, and/orcan be created by receiving requests to join from a user. In oneimplementation, a group feed can be created, with messages being addedto the group feed when someone submits a message to the group as a wholethrough a suitable user interface. For example, a group page may have agroup feed or a section within the feed for posts, and a user can submita post through a publisher component in the user interface by clickingon a “Share” or similar button. In another implementation, a message canbe added to a group feed when the message is submitted about any one ofthe members. Also, a group feed can include feed tracked updates aboutactions of the group as a whole (e.g., when an administrator changesdata in a group profile or a record owned by the group), or aboutactions of an individual member.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a group feed on a group page according tosome implementations. As shown, a feed item 710 shows that a user hasposted a document to the group object. The text “Bill Bauer has postedthe document Competitive Insights” can be generated by the databasesystem in a similar manner as feed tracked updates about a record beingchanged. A feed item 720 shows a post to the group, along with comments730 from Ella Johnson, James Saxon, Mary Moore and Bill Bauer.

FIG. 8 shows an example of a record feed containing a feed trackedupdate, post, and comments according to some implementations. Feed item810 shows a feed tracked update based on the event of submitting adiscount for approval. Other feed items show posts, e.g., from BillBauer, that are made to the record and comments, e.g., from Erica Lawand Jake Rapp, that are made on the posts.

VII. Infrastructure for a Feed

A. Tables Used to Create a Feed

FIG. 9A shows an example of a plurality of feed tracked update tablesthat may be used in tracking events and creating feeds according to someimplementations. The tables of FIG. 9A may have entries added, orpotentially removed, as part of tracking events in the database fromwhich feed items are creates or that correspond to feed items. In oneimplementation, each tenant has its own set of tables that are createdbased on criteria provided by the tenant.

An event history table 910 can provide a feed tracked update of eventsfrom which feed items are created. In one aspect, the events are forobjects that are being tracked. Thus, table 910 can store and changefeed tracked updates for feeds, and the changes can be persisted. Invarious implementations, event history table 910 can have columns ofevent ID 911, object ID 912 (also called parent ID), and created by ID913. The event ID 911 can uniquely identify a particular event and canstart at 1 (or other number or value).

Each new event can be added chronologically with a new event ID, whichmay be incremented in order. An object ID 912 can be used to track whichrecord or user's profile is being changed. For example, the object IDcan correspond to the record whose field is being changed or the userwhose feed is receiving a post. The created by ID 913 can track the userwho is performing the action that results in the event, e.g., the userthat is changing the field or that is posting a message to the profileof another user.

In one implementation, a name of an event can also be stored in table910. In one implementation, a tenant can specify events that they wanttracked. In an implementation, event history table 910 can include thename of the field that changed (e.g., old and new values). In anotherimplementation, the name of the field, and the values, are stored in aseparate table. Other information about an event (e.g., text of comment,feed tracked update, post or status update) can be stored in eventhistory table 910, or in other tables, as is now described.

A field change table 920 can provide a feed tracked update of thechanges to the fields. The columns of table 920 can include an event ID921 (which correlates to the event ID 911), an old value 922 for thefield, and the new value 923 for the field. In one implementation, if anevent changes more than one field value, then there can be an entry foreach field changed. As shown, event ID 921 has two entries for eventE37.

A comment table 930 can provide a feed tracked update of the commentsmade regarding an event, e.g., a comment on a post or a change of afield value. The columns of table 930 can include an event ID 921 (whichcorrelates to the event ID 911), the comment column 932 that stores thetext of the comment, and the time/date 933 of the comment. In oneimplementation, there can be multiple comments for each event. As shown,event ID 921 has two entries for event E37.

A user subscription table 940 can provide a list of the objects beingfollowed (subscribed to) by a user. In one implementation, each entryhas a user ID 941 of the user doing the following and one object ID 942corresponding to the object being followed. In one implementation, theobject being followed can be a record or a user. As shown, the user withID U819 is following object IDs O615 and O489. If user U819 is followingother objects, then additional entries may exist for user U819. Also asshown, user U719 is also following object O615. The user subscriptiontable 940 can be updated when a user adds or deletes an object that isbeing followed.

In one implementation, regarding a profile feed and a news feed, theseare read-only views on the event history table 910 specialized for thesefeed types. Conceptually the news feed can be a semi-join between theuser subscription table 940 and the event history table 910 on theobject IDs 912 and 942 for the user. In one aspect, these entities canhave polymorphic parents and can be subject to a number of restrictionsdetailed herein, e.g., to limit the cost of sharing checks.

In one implementation, entity feeds are modeled in the API as a feedassociate entity (e.g., AccountFeed, CaseFeed, etc). A feed associateentity includes information composed of events (e.g., event IDs) foronly one particular record type. Such a list can limit the query (andsharing checks) to a specific record type. In one aspect, thisstructuring of the entity feeds can make the query run faster. Forexample, a request for a feed of a particular account can include therecord type of account. In one implementation, an account feed table canthen be searched, where the table has account record IDs andcorresponding event IDs or pointers to particular event entries in eventhistory table 910. Since the account feed table only contains some ofthe records (not all), the query can run faster.

In one implementation, there may be objects with no events listed in theevent history table 910, even though the record is being tracked. Inthis case, the database service can return a result indicating that nofeed items exist.

A feed item can represent an individual field change of a record,creation and deletion of a record, or other events being tracked for arecord or a user. In one implementation, all of the feed items in asingle transaction (event) can be grouped together and have the sameevent ID. A single transaction relates to the operations that can beperformed in a single communication with the database. In anotherimplementation where a feed is an object of the database, a feed itemcan be a child of a profile feed, news feed, or entity feed. If a feeditem is added to multiple feeds, the feed item can be replicated as achild of each feed to which the feed item is added.

In some implementations, a comment exists as an item that depends fromfeed tracked updates, posts, status updates, and other items that areindependent of each other. Thus, a feed comment object can exist as achild object of a feed item object. For example, comment table 930 canbe considered a child table of event history table 910. In oneimplementation, a feed comment can be a child of a profile feed, newsfeed, or entity feed that is separate from other feed items.

In one implementation, viewing a feed pulls up the most recent messagesor feed tracked updates (e.g., 25) and searches the most recent (e.g.,4) comments for each feed item. The comments can be identified via thecomment table 930. In one implementation, a user can request to see morecomments, e.g., by selecting a see more link.

After feed items have been generated, they can be filtered so that onlycertain feed items are displayed, which may be tailored to a specifictenant and/or user. In one implementation, a user can specify changes toa field that meet certain criteria for the feed item to show up in afeed displayed to the user, e.g., a news feed or even an entity feeddisplayed directly to the user. In one implementation, the criteria canbe combined with other factors (e.g., number of feed items in the feed)to determine which feed items to display. For instance, if a smallnumber of feed items exist (e.g., below a threshold), then all of thefeed items may be displayed.

In one implementation, a user can specify the criteria via a query onthe feed items in his/her new feed, and thus a feed may only returnobjects of a certain type, certain types of events, feed tracked updatesabout certain fields, and other criteria mentioned herein. Messages canalso be filtered according to some criteria, which may be specified in aquery. Such an added query can be added onto a standard query that isused to create the news feed for a user. A first user could specify theusers and records that the first user is following in this manner, aswell as identify the specific feed items that the first user wants tofollow. The query could be created through a graphical interface oradded by a user directly in a query language. Other criteria couldinclude receiving only posts directed to a particular user or record, asopposed to other feed items.

In one implementation, a user can access a feed of a record if the usercan access the record. The security rules for determining whether a userhas access to a record can be performed in a variety of ways, some ofwhich are described in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 8,095,531, titledMETHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING ACCESS TO CUSTOM OBJECTS IN ADATABASE, by Weissman et al., issued on Jan. 10, 2012, and herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety and for all purposes.

In one implementation, a user can edit a feed of a record if the userhas access to the record, e.g., deleting or editing a feed item. Inanother implementation, a user (besides an administrator) cannot edit afeed item, except for performing an action from which a feed item can becreated. In one example, a user is first has to have access to aparticular record and field for a feed item to be created based on anaction of the user. In this case, an administrator can be considered tobe a user with MODIFY-ALL-DATA security level. In yet anotherimplementation, a user who created the record can edit the feed.

In one implementation, the text of posts are stored in a child table(post table 950), which can be cross-referenced with event history table910. Post table 950 can include event ID 951 (to cross-reference withevent ID 911), post text 952 to store the text of the post, andtime/date 953. An entry in post table 950 can be considered a feed postobject.

VIII. Subscribing to Users and Records to Follow

As described above, a user can follow users, groups, and records.Implementations can provide mechanisms for a user to manage which users,groups, and records that the user is currently following. In oneimplementation, a user can be limited to the number of users and records(collectively or separately) that the user can follow. For example, auser may be restricted to only following 10 users and 15 records, or asanother example, 25 total. Alternatively, the user may be permitted tofollow more or less users.

In one implementation, a user can go to a page of a record and thenselect to follow that object (e.g., with a button marked “follow” or“join”). In another implementation, a user can search for a record andhave the matching records show up in a list. The search can includecriteria of records that the user might want to follow. Such criteriacan include the owner, the creation date, last comment date, andnumerical values of particular fields (e.g., an opportunity with a valueof more than $10,000).

A follow button (or other activation object) can then reside next toeach record in the resulting list, and the follow button can be selectedto start following the record. Similarly, a user can go to a profilepage of a user and select to follow the user, or a search for users canprovide a list, where one or more users can be selected for followingfrom the list. The selections of subscribing and unsubscribing can addand delete rows in table 920.

In some implementations, a subscription center acts as a centralizedplace in a database application (e.g., application platform 18) tomanage which records a user subscribes to, and which field updates theuser wants to see in feed tracked updates. The subscription center canuse a subscription table to keep track of the subscriptions of varioususers. In one implementation, the subscription center shows a list ofall the items (users and records) a user is subscribed to. In anotherimplementation, a user can unsubscribe to subscribed objects from thesubscription center.

A. Automatic Subscription

FIG. 9B shows a flowchart of an example of a method 900 forautomatically subscribing a user to an object in a database system,performed in accordance with some implementations. Any of the followingblocks can be performed wholly or partially with the database system,and in particular by one or more processor of the database system.

In block 901, one or more properties of an object stored in the databasesystem are received. The properties can be received from administratorsof the database system, or from users of the database system (which maybe an administrator of a customer organization). The properties can berecords or users, and can include any of the fields of the object thatare stored in the database system. Examples of properties of a recordinclude: an owner of the record, a user that converted the record fromone record type to another record type, whether the first user hasviewed the record, and a time the first user viewed the record. Examplesof properties of a user include: which organization (tenant) the user isassociated with, the second user's position in the same organization,and which other users the user had emailed or worked with on projects.

In block 902, the database system receives one or more criteria aboutwhich users are to automatically follow the object. Examples of thecriteria can include: an owner or creator of a record is to follow therecord, subordinates of an owner or creator of a record are to followthe record, and a user is to follow his/her manager, the user's peers,other users in the same business group as the user, and other users thatthe user has emailed or worked with on a project. The criteria can bespecific to a user or group of users (e.g., users of a tenant).

In block 903, the database system determines whether the one or moreproperties of the object satisfy the one or more criteria for a firstuser. In one implementation, this determination can occur by firstobtaining the criteria and then determining objects that satisfy thecriteria. The determination can occur periodically, at time of creationof an object, or at other times.

In block 904, if the criteria are satisfied, the object is associatedwith the first user. The association can be in a list that storesinformation as to what objects are being followed by the first user.User subscription table 940 is an example of such a list. In oneimplementation, the one or more criteria are satisfied if one propertysatisfies at least one criterion. Thus, if the criteria are that a userfollows his/her manager and the object is the user's manager, then thefirst user will follow the object.

In one implementation, a user can also be automatically unsubscribed,e.g., if a certain action happens. The action could be a change in theuser's position within the organization, e.g., a demotion or becoming acontractor. As another example, if a case gets closed, then usersfollowing the case may be automatically unsubscribed.

IX. Adding Items to a Feed

As described above, a feed includes feed items, which include feedtracked updates and messages, as defined herein. Various feeds can begenerated. For example, a feed can be generated about a record or abouta user. Then, users can view these feeds. A user can separately view afeed of a record or user, e.g., by going to a home page for the user orthe record. As described above, a user can also follow another user orrecord and receive the feed items of those feeds through a separate feedapplication. The feed application can provide each of the feeds that auser is following and, in some examples, can combine various feeds in asingle information feed.

A feed generator can refer to any software program running on aprocessor or a dedicated processor (or combination thereof) that cangenerate feed items (e.g., feed tracked updates or messages) and combinethem into a feed. In one implementation, the feed generator can generatea feed item by receiving a feed tracked update or message, identifyingwhat feeds the item should be added to, and adding the feed. Adding thefeed can include adding additional information (metadata) to the feedtracked update or message (e.g., adding a document, sender of message, adetermined importance, etc.). The feed generator can also check to makesure that no one sees feed tracked updates for data that they don't haveaccess to see (e.g., according to sharing rules). A feed generator canrun at various times to pre-compute feeds or to compute themdynamically, or combinations thereof.

In one implementation, processor 417 in FIG. 4 can identify an eventthat meets criteria for a feed tracked update, and then generate thefeed tracked update. Processor 417 can also identify a message. Forexample, an application interface can have certain mechanisms forsubmitting a message (e.g., “submit” buttons on a profile page, detailpage of a record, “comment” button on post), and use of these mechanismscan be used to identify a message to be added to a table used to createa feed or added directly to a list of feed items ready for display.

A. Adding Items to a Pre-Computed Feed

In some implementations, a feed of feed items is created before a userrequests the feed. Such an implementation can run fast, but have highoverall costs for storage. In one implementation, once a profile feed ora record feed has been created, a feed item (messages and feed trackedupdates) can be added to the feed. The feed can exist in the databasesystem in a variety of ways, such as a related list. The feed caninclude mechanisms to remove items as well as add them.

As described above, a news feed can be an aggregated feed of all therecord feeds and profile feeds to which a user has subscribed. The newsfeed can be provided on the home page of the subscribing user.Therefore, a news feed can be created by and exist for a particularuser. For example, a user can subscribe to receive entity feeds ofcertain records that are of interest to the user, and to receive profilefeeds of people that are of interest (e.g., people on a same team, thatwork for the user, are a boss of the user, etc.). A news feed can tell auser about all the actions across all the records (and people) whom haveexplicitly (or implicitly) been subscribed to via the subscriptionscenter (described above).

In one implementation, only one instance of each feed tracked update isshown on a user's news feed, even if the feed tracked update ispublished in multiple entities to which the user is subscribed. In oneaspect, there may be delays in publishing news articles. For example,the delay may be due to queued up messages for asynchronous entity feedtracked update persistence. Different feeds may have different delays(e.g., delay for new feeds, but none of profile and entity feeds). Inanother implementation, certain feed tracked updates regarding asubscribed profile feed or an entity feed are not shown because the useris not allowed access, e.g., due to sharing rules (which restrict whichusers can see which data). Also, in one implementation, data of therecord that has been updated (which includes creation) can be providedin the feed (e.g., a file or updated value of a feed can be added as aflash rendition).

B. Dynamically Generating Feeds

In some implementations, a feed generator can generate the feed itemsdynamically when a user requests to see a particular feed, e.g., aprofile feed, entity feed, or the user's news feed. In oneimplementation, the most recent feed items (e.g., top 50) are generatedfirst. In one aspect, the other feed items can be generated as abackground process, e.g., not synchronously with the request to view thefeed. However, since the background process is likely to complete beforea user gets to the next 50 feed items, the feed generation may appearsynchronous. In another aspect, the most recent feed items may or maynot include comments, e.g., that are tied to feed tracked updates orposts.

In one implementation, the feed generator can query the appropriatesubset of tables shown in FIG. 9A and/or other tables as necessary, togenerate the feed items for display. For example, the feed generator canquery the event history table 910 for the updates that occurred for aparticular record. The ID of the particular record can be matchedagainst the ID of the record. In one implementation, changes to a wholeset of records can be stored in one table. The feed generator can alsoquery for status updates, posts, and comments, each of which can bestored in different parts of a record or in separate tables, as shown inFIG. 9A. What gets recorded in the entity event history table (as wellas what is displayed) can be controlled by a feed settings page insetup, which can be configurable by an administrator and can be the samefor the entire organization, as is described above for custom feeds.

In one implementation, there can be two feed generators. For example,one generator can generate the record and profile feeds and anothergenerator can generate news feeds. For the former, the feed generatorcan query identifiers of the record or the user profile. For the latter,the news feed generator can query the subscribed profile feeds andrecord feeds, e.g., user subscription table 940. In one implementation,the feed generator looks at a person's subscription center to decidewhich feeds to query for and return a list of feed items for the user.The list can be de-duped, e.g., by looking at the event number andvalues for the respective table, such as field name or ID, comment ID,or other information.

C. Adding Information to Feed Tracked Update Tables

FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of an example of a method 1000 for savinginformation to feed tracking tables, performed in accordance with someimplementations. In one implementation, some of the blocks may beperformed regardless of whether a specific event or part of an event(e.g., only one field of an update is being tracked) is being tracked.In various implementations, a processor or set of processors (hardwiredor programmed) can perform method 1000 and any other method describedherein.

In block 1010, data indicative of an event is received. The data mayhave a particular identifier that specifies the event. For example,there may be a particular identifier for a field update. In anotherimplementation, the transaction may be investigated for keywordsidentifying the event (e.g., terms in a query indicating a close, changefield, or create operations).

In block 1020, it is determined whether the event is being tracked forinclusion into feed tracked update tables. The determination of what isbeing tracked can be based on a tenant's configuration as describedabove. In one aspect, the event has an actor (person performing anevent), and an object of the event (e.g., record or user profile beingchanged).

In block 1030, the event is written to an event history table (e.g.,table 910). In one implementation, this feed tracking operation can beperformed in the same transaction that performs a save operation forupdating a record. In another implementation, a transaction includes atleast two roundtrip database operations, with one roundtrip being thedatabase save (write), and the second database operation being thesaving of the update in the feed tracked update table. In oneimplementation, the event history table is chronological. In anotherimplementation, if user A posts on user B's profile, then user A isunder the “created by” 913 and user B is under the object ID 912.

In block 1040, a field change table (e.g., field change table 920) canbe updated with an entry having the event identifier and fields thatwere changed in the update. In one implementation, the field changetable is a child table of the event history table. This table caninclude information about each of the fields that are changed. Forexample, for an event that changes the name and balance for an accountrecord, an entry can have the event identifier, the old and new name,and the old and new balance. Alternatively, each field change can be ina different row with the same event identifier. The field name or ID canalso be included to determine which field the values are associated.

In block 1050, when the event is a post, a post table (e.g., post table950) can be updated with an entry having the event identifier and textof the post. In one implementation, the field change table is a childtable of the event history table. In another implementation, the textcan be identified in the transaction (e.g., a query command), strippedout, and put into the entry at the appropriate column. The varioustables described herein can be combined or separated in various ways.For example, the post table and the field change table may be part ofthe same table or distinct tables, or may include overlapping portionsof data.

In block 1060, a comment is received for an event and the comment isadded to a comment table (e.g., comment table 930). The comment could befor a post or an update of a record, from which a feed tracked updatecan be generated for display. In one implementation, the text can beidentified in the transaction (e.g., a query command), stripped out, andput into the entry at the appropriate column.

D. Reading Information from Feed Tracked Update Tables

FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of an example of a method 1100 for reading afeed item as part of generating a feed for display, performed inaccordance with some implementations. In one implementation, the feeditem may be read as part of creating a feed for a record.

In block 1110, a query is received for an events history table (e.g.,event history table 910) for events related to a particular record. Inone implementation, the query includes an identifier of the record forwhich the feed is being requested. In various implementations, the querymay be initiated from a detail page of the record, a home page of a userrequesting the record feed, or from a listing of different records(e.g., obtained from a search or from browsing).

In block 1120, the user's security level can be checked to determine ifthe user can view the record feed. Typically, a user can view a recordfeed, if the user can access the record. This security check can beperformed in various ways. In one implementation, a first table ischecked to see if the user has a classification (e.g., a security levelthat allows him to view records of the given type). In anotherimplementation, a second table is checked to see if the user is allowedto see the specific record. The first table can be checked before thesecond table, and both tables can be different sections of a same table.If the user has requested the feed from the detail page of the record,one implementation can skip the security level check for the recordsince the check was already done when the user requested to view thedetail page.

In one implementation, a security check is determined upon each requestto view the record feed. Thus, whether or not a feed item is displayedto a user is determined based on access rights, e.g., when the userrequests to see a feed of a record or a news feed of all the objects theuser is following. In this manner, if a user's security changes, a feedautomatically adapts to the user's security level when it is changed. Inanother implementation, a feed can be computed before being requestedand a subsequent security check can be made to determine whether theperson still has access right to view the feed items. The security(access) check may be at the field level, as well as at the recordlevel.

In block 1130, if the user can access the record, a field level securitytable can be checked to determine whether the user can see particularfields. In one implementation, only those fields are displayed to theuser. Alternatively, a subset of those the user has access to isdisplayed. The field level security check may optionally be performed atthe same time and even using the same operation as the record levelcheck. In addition, the record type check may also be performed at thistime. If the user can only see certain fields, then any feed itemsrelated to those fields (e.g., as determined from field change table920) can be removed from the feed being displayed.

In block 1140, the feed items that the user has access to are displayed.In one implementation, a predetermined number (e.g., 20) of feed itemsare displayed at a time. The method can display the first 20 feed itemsthat are found to be readable, and then determine others while the useris viewing the first 20. In another implementation, the other feed itemsare not determined until the user requests to see them, e.g., byactivating a see more link.

FIG. 12 shows a flowchart of an example of a method 1200 for reading afeed item of a profile feed for display, performed in accordance withsome implementations. In one implementation, the query includes anidentifier of the user profile feed that is being requested. Certainblocks may be optional, as is also true for other methods describedherein. For example, security checks may not be performed.

In block 1210, a query is directed to an event history table (e.g.,event history table 910) for events having a first user as the actor ofthe event (e.g., creation of an account) or on which the event occurred(e.g., a post to the user's profile). In various implementations, thequery may be initiated by a second user from the user's profile page, ahome page of a user requesting the profile feed (e.g., from a list ofusers being followed), or from a listing of different users (e.g.,obtained from a search or from browsing). Various mechanisms fordetermining aspects of events and obtaining information from tables canbe the same across any of the methods described herein.

In block 1220, a security check may also be performed on whether thesecond user can see the first user's profile. In one implementation anyuser can see the profile of another user of the same tenant, and block1220 is optional.

In block 1230, a security (access) check can be performed for the feedtracked updates based on record types, records, and/or fields, as wellsecurity checks for messages. In one implementation, only the feedtracked updates related to records that the person has updated are theones that need security check as the feed items about the user arereadable by any user of the same tenant. Users of other tenants are notnavigable, and thus security can be enforced at a tenant level. Inanother implementation, messages can be checked for keywords or links toa record or field that the second user does not have access.

As users can have different security classifications, it is importantthat a user with a low-level security cannot see changes to records thathave been performed by a user with high-level security. In oneimplementation, each feed item can be checked and then the viewableresults displayed, but this can be inefficient. For example, such asecurity check may take a long time, and the second user would like toget some results sooner rather than later. The following blocksillustrate one implementation of how security might be checked for afirst user that has a lot of feed items, but the second user cannot seemost of them. This implementation can be used for all situations, butcan be effective in the above situation.

In block 1231, a predetermined number of entries are retrieved from theevent history table (e.g., starting from the most recent, which may bedetermined from the event identifier). The retrieved entries may just beones that match the user ID of the query. In one implementation, entriesare checked to find the entries that are associated with the user andwith a record (i.e. not just posts to the user account). In anotherimplementation, those entries associated with the user are allowed to beviewed, e.g., because the second user can see the profile of the firstuser as determined in block 1220.

In block 1232, the record identifiers are organized by type and the typeis checked on whether the second user can see the record types. Otherchecks such as whether a record was manually shared (e.g., by the owner)can also be performed. In one implementation, the queries for thedifferent types can be done in parallel.

In block 1233, if a user can see the record type, then a check can beperformed on the specific record. In one implementation, if a user cansee a record type, then the user can see all of the records of thattype, and so this block can be skipped. In another implementation, thesharing model can account for whether a user below the second user(e.g., the second user is a manager) can see the record. In such animplementation, the second user may see such a record. In oneimplementation, if a user cannot see a specific record, then comments onthat record are also not viewable.

In block 1234, field level sharing rules can be used to determinewhether the second user can see information about an update or value ofcertain fields. In one implementation, messages can be analyzed todetermine if reference to a particular field name is made. If so, thenfield level security can be applied to the messages.

In block 1280, blocks 1231-1234 are repeated until a stopping criterionis met. In one implementation, the stopping criteria may be when amaximum number (e.g., 100) of entries that are viewable have beenidentified. In another implementation, the stopping criteria can be thata maximum number (e.g., 500) of entries from the entity feed trackedupdate table have been analyzed, regardless of whether the entries areviewable or not.

In one implementation, a news feed can be generated as a combination ofthe profile feeds and the entity feeds, e.g., as described above. In oneimplementation, a list of records and user profiles for the queries inblocks 1110 and 1210 can be obtained from user subscription table 940.In one implementation, there is a maximum number of objects that can befollowed.

E. Partial Pre-Computing of Items for a Feed

FIG. 13 shows a flowchart of an example of a method 1300 of storingevent information for efficient generation of feed items to display in afeed, performed in accordance with some implementations. In variousimplementations, method 1300 can be performed each time an event iswritten to the event history table, or periodically based on some othercriteria (e.g., every minute, after five updates have been made, etc.).

In block 1310, data indicative of an event is received. The data may bethe same and identified in the same way as described for block 1010. Theevent may be written to an event history table (e.g., table 910).

In block 1320, the object(s) associated with the event are identified.In various implementations, the object may be identified by according tovarious criteria, such as the record being changed, the user changingthe record, a user posting a message, and a user whose profile themessage is being posted to.

In block 1330, the users following the event are determined. In oneimplementation, one or more objects that are associated with the eventare used to determine the users following the event. In oneimplementation, a subscription table (e.g., table 940) can be used tofind the identified objects. The entries of the identified objects cancontain an identifier (e.g., user ID 941) of each the users followingthe object

In block 1340, the event and the source of the event, e.g., a record(for a record update) or a posting user (for a user-generated post) arewritten to a news feed table along with an event identifier. In oneimplementation, such information is added as a separate entry into thenews feed table along with the event ID. In another implementation, eachof the events for a user is added as a new column for the row of theuser. In yet another implementation, more columns (e.g., columns fromthe other tables) can be added.

News feed table 960 shows an example of such a table with user ID 961and event ID or pointer 962. The table can be organized in any manner.One difference from event history table 910 is that one event can havemultiple entries (one for each subscriber) in the news feed table 960.In one implementation, all of the entries for a same user are groupedtogether, e.g., as shown. The user U819 is shown as following events E37and E90, and thus any of the individual feed items resulting from thoseevents. In another implementation, any new entries are added at the endof the table. Thus, all of the followers for a new event can be added asa group. In such an implementation, the event IDs would generally begrouped together in the table. Of course, the table can be sorted in anysuitable manner.

In an implementation, if the number of users is small, then the feeditems in one or more of the tables may be written as part of the samewrite transaction. In one implementation, the determination of smalldepends on the number of updates performed for the event (e.g., amaximum number of update operations may be allowed), and if moreoperations are performed, then the addition of the feed items isperformed. In one aspect, the number of operations can be counted by thenumber of rows to be updated, including the rows of the record (whichdepends on the update event), and the rows of the feed tracked updatetables, which can depend on the number of followers. In anotherimplementation, if the number of users is large, the rest of the feeditems can be created by batch. In one implementation, the feed items arewritten as part of a different transaction, i.e., by batch job.

In one implementation, security checks can be performed before an entryis added to the news feed table 960. In this manner, security checks canbe performed during batch jobs and may not have to be performed at thetime of requesting a news feed. In one implementation, the event can beanalyzed and if access is not allowed to a feed item of the event, thenan entry is not added. In one aspect, multiple feed items for a sameuser may not result from a same event (e.g., by how an event is definedin table 910), and thus there is no concern about a user missing a feeditem that he/she should be able to view.

In block 1350, a request for a news feed is received from a user. In oneimplementation, the request is obtained when a user navigates to theuser's home page. In another implementation, the user selects a table,link, or other page item that causes the request to be sent.

In block 1360, the news feed table and other tables are accessed toprovide displayable feed items of the news feed. The news feed can thenbe displayed. In one implementation, the news feed table can then bejoined with the event history table to determine the feed items. Forexample, the news feed table 960 can be searched for entries with aparticular user ID. These entries can be used to identify event entriesin event history table 910, and the proper information from any childtables can be retrieved. The feed items (e.g., feed tracked updates andmessages) can then be generated for display.

In one implementation, the most recent feed items (e.g., 100 mostrecent) are determined first. The other feed items may then bedetermined in a batch process. Thus, the feed item that a user is mostlikely to view can come up first, and the user may not recognize thatthe other feed items are being done in batch. In one implementation, themost recent feed items can be gauged by the event identifiers. Inanother implementation, the feed items with a highest importance levelcan be displayed first. The highest importance being determined by oneor more criteria, such as, who posted the feed item, how recently, howrelated to other feed items, etc.

In one implementation where the user subscription table 940 is used todynamically create a news feed, the query would search the subscriptiontable, and then use the object IDs to search the event history table(one search for each object the user is following). Thus, the query forthe news feed can be proportional to the number of objects that one wassubscribing to. The news feed table allows the intermediate block ofdetermining the object IDs to be done at an earlier stage so that therelevant events are already known. Thus, the determination of the feedis no longer proportional to the number of object being followed.

In some implementations, a news feed table can include a pointer (asopposed to an event identifier) to the event history table for eachevent that is being followed by the user. In this manner, the evententries can immediately be retrieved without having to perform a searchon the event history table. Security checks can be made at this time,and the text for the feed tracked updates can be generated.

X. Display of a Feed

Feeds include messages and feed tracked updates and can show up in manyplaces in an application interface with the database system. In oneimplementation, feeds can be scoped to the context of the page on whichthey are being displayed. For example, how a feed tracked update ispresented can vary depending on which page it is being displayed (e.g.,in news feeds, on a detail page of a record, and even based on how theuser ended up at a particular page). In another implementation, only afinite number of feed items are displayed (e.g., 50). In oneimplementation, there can be a limit specifically on the number of feedtracked updates or messages displayed. Alternatively, the limit can beapplied to particular types of feed tracked updates or messages. Forexample, only the most recent changes (e.g., 5 most recent) for a fieldmay be displayed. Also, the number of fields for which changes aredisplayed can also be limited. Such limits can also be placed on profilefeeds and news feeds. In one implementation, feed items may also besubject to certain filtering criteria before being displayed, e.g., asdescribed below.

XI. Filtering and Searching Feeds

It can be possible that a user subscribes to many users and records,which can cause a user's news feed to be very long and include many feeditems. In such instances, it can be difficult for the user to read everyfeed item, and thus some important or interesting feed items may not beread. In some implementations, filters may be used to determine whichfeed items are added to a feed or displayed in the feed.

FIG. 14 shows a flowchart of an example of a method 1400 for creating acustom feed for users of a database system using filtering criteria,performed in accordance with some implementations. Any of the followingblocks can be performed wholly or partially with the database system,and in particular by one or more processor of the database system.

In block 1410, one or more criteria specifying which feed items are tobe displayed to a first user are received from a tenant. In oneimplementation, the criteria specify which items to add to the customfeed. For example, the criteria could specify to only include feed itemsfor certain fields of a record, messages including certain keywords, andother criteria mentioned herein. In another implementation, the criteriaspecify which items to remove from the custom feed. For example, thecriteria could specify not to include feed items about certain fields orincluding certain keywords.

In block 1420, the database system identifies feed items of one or moreselected objects that match the criteria. The feed items can be storedin the database, e.g., in one or more of the tables of FIG. 9A. In oneimplementation, the one or more selected objects are the objects thatthe first user is following. In another implementation, the one or moreselected objects is a single record whose record feed the first user isrequesting.

In block 1430, the feed items that match the criteria are displayed tothe first user in the custom feed. The generation of text for a feedtracked update can occur after the identification of the feed items(e.g., data for a field change) and before the display of the finalversion of the feed item.

In one implementation, the criteria are received before a feed item iscreated. In another implementation, the criteria are received from thefirst user. In one aspect, the criteria may only be used for determiningfeeds to display to the first user. In yet another implementation, thecriteria are received from a first tenant and apply to all of the usersof the first tenant. Also, in an implementation where a plurality ofcriteria are specified, the criteria may be satisfied for a feed item ifone criterion is satisfied.

Some implementations can provide mechanisms to search for feed items ofinterest. For example, the feed items can be searched by keyword, e.g.,as entered by a user. As another example, a tab (or other selectiondevice) can show feed items about or from a particular user. In oneimplementation, only messages (or even just comments) from a particularuser can be selected. Besides searching for feed items that matchcriteria, one also could search for a particular feed item.

XII. Establishing Access with External Content

Content can be scattered across many different network domains on theInternet. Such content can be stored in various data repositories ordata sources that are hosted on different network domains from anon-demand database service. In some implementations, the datarepositories can include content management data sources. Examples ofcontent management data sources include Dropbox, Box.net, Google Drive,SharePoint, FileNet, Documentum, Skydrive, etc. Various content filesand folders may be stored in one or more content management data sourcesoutside of the on-demand database service, leading to contentfragmentation. This may present difficulties in connecting, accessing,viewing, sharing, editing, searching, and performing other desiredactions on content that is stored across many different contentmanagement data sources.

A system architecture may be provided to establish and unify access tocontent between an on-demand database service and one or more externalcontent management data sources. The system architecture can includevarious software, application, user interface, and/or API components tofacilitate access and communicate with the one or more contentmanagement data sources. The system architecture can provide acentralized read-write point of access to each of the one or morecontent management data sources.

FIG. 15 shows a flowchart of an example of a computer-implemented method1500 for establishing access with a content object stored in a contentmanagement data source from an on-demand database service, performed inaccordance with some implementations. The method 1500 shows a high-leveloverview of the types of operations that may be performed inestablishing access to external content from an on-demand databaseservice. The operations in the method 1500 may be performed in differentorders and/or with different, fewer, or additional operations. Themethod 1500 may be described with reference to some examples asillustrated in FIGS. 19-23.

At block 1504 of the method 1500, a request is received at a computingdevice from a user of the on-demand database service to access dataregarding a content object stored in a content management data source,where the content management data source is external to the on-demanddatabase service. Content objects can include metadata as well as theactual content itself. Content objects can include content files and/orfolders. However, it is understood that content objects are not limitedto files and folders, but can include data of any type. Content filescan include any file types, including text, audio, video, image, and/orother file. Content objects may be stored in various data repositoriesand hosted in network domains different than the on-demand databaseservice.

In some implementations, the on-demand database service can includecloud-based services, including online business applications and onlinesocial networks. An online social network, such as Chatter®, facilitatescommunication and collaboration among entities. The online socialnetwork can be managed and controlled by a database service provider,such as salesforce.com. The online social network may also facilitateusage of other online services, including CRM services and databasemanagement services. The on-demand database services can also includeonline business applications, including but not limited to taskmanagement services (e.g., do.com™), CRM services (e.g., Salescloud®),customer services (Service Cloud® and desk.com™), performance managementservices (e.g., Rypple® and work.com), social marketing services (e.g.,Radian6® and Buddy Media™), content and/or data management services(e.g., database.com™, data.com®), platform services (e.g., site.com™,Heroku™, force.com®, AppExchange®).

The data source is external to the on-demand database service and canstore one or more content objects. In some implementations, the datasource is “external” in that it is hosted on a network domain separatefrom the network domain of the on-demand database service. The datasource can be a repository configured to store and manage content. Insome instances, the data source can be a content management data source.The content management data source can be provided by a service providersuch as Dropbox, Box.net, Google Drive, SharePoint, FileNet, Documentum,Skydrive, etc. In some implementations, the content management datasource can provide content management and storage within a cloud-basedenvironment, such as Dropbox, Box.net, and Google Drive. In someimplementations, the content management data source can provide contentmanagement and storage within an organization, such as SharePoint andDocumentum. This can be referred to as an on-premise content managementdata source.

The content management data source can serve as a content repository forstorage of any data type. For example, a piece of formatted text orexcerpt from a webpage can be stored in EverNote, a video can be storedin YouTube or Vimeo, an image can be stored in Flickr, a business reportcan be provided in SAP or Oracle, a search result can be provided inGoogle, etc.

A process call or request can be made to the content object stored inthe external content management data source. The request can includeinstructions for locating and retrieving the content object so that dataregarding the content object can be delivered to an end user in theon-demand database service. Instructions can include information dataidentifying the content object. In some implementations, informationdata identifying the content object can include a URL to the contentobject or a unique content object ID to the content object. Informationdata identifying the content object can further include a title, asource, an author, and other metadata. In some implementations, theinformation data identifying the content object can be provided by theuser and received at the computing device.

In some implementations, the request to access data regarding thecontent object does not necessarily get transmitted directly to theexternal content management data source. The request may be communicatedthrough one or more components in a system architecture to establishaccess with the external content management data source. The one or morecomponents may provide the interface for communicating between theon-demand database service and the external content management datasource. The request to access data regarding the content object mayinclude information data identifying the content object to gain accessto the content object when access with the external content managementdata source is established. The components of the system architecturemay be described with reference to FIGS. 19-20.

FIG. 19 shows an example of a system diagram 1900 illustratingarchitectural components for establishing access with a plurality ofcontent management data sources, according to some implementations. Adatabase system 1910, such as a multi-tenant database system, may bemanaged by a data provider, such as salesforce.com. A plurality ofcontent management data sources 1940 a, 1940 b, and 1940 c may provide arepository for storage and management of content. Integrating accessacross the plurality of content management data sources 1940 a, 1940 b,and 1940 c may be limited without components mediating between thedatabase system 1910 and each of the content management data sources1940 a, 1940 b, and 1940 c.

A system architecture can be implemented in the system diagram 1900 tomediate between the database system 1910 and each of the contentmanagement data sources 1940 a, 1940 b, and 1940 c. The systemarchitecture can include middleware components 1920. Middleware connectstwo or more otherwise separate applications or systems to enableseamless integration of the separate applications or systems. Themiddleware components 1920 can include a collection of software modules,APIs, and other associated infrastructure that allows for integratedaccess of content stored in external data repositories with the databasesystem 1910. Integrated access of such content can be provided in thedatabase system 1910 as if they were native to the database system 1910.The middleware components 1920 can be implemented as one or both of aset of features and an application platform. As used herein, themiddleware components 1920 can collectively be referred to as a “contenthub.”

Each of the content management data sources 1940 a, 1940 b, and 1940 ccan be in communication with corresponding repository-specificconnectors 1930 a, 1930 b, and 1930 c. Each content management datasource 1940 a, 1940 b, and 1940 c can have an API. In some instances,the API can be publicly available. The repository-specific connectors1930 a, 1930 b, and 1930 c can include applications, such as Javaapplications, configured to communicate with the APIs of thecorresponding content management data sources 1940 a, 1940 b, and 1940c.

The middleware components 1920 communicate with the repository-specificconnectors 1930 a, 1930 b, and 1930 c to establish access with thecontent management data sources 1940 a, 1940 b, and 1940 c. In someimplementations, the middleware components 1920 include an abstractionlayer that is coded to write against each of the APIs of the contentmanagement data sources 1940 a, 1940 b, and 1940 c through therepository-specific connectors 1930 a, 1930 b, and 1930 c. In someimplementations, the middleware components 1920 can provide acentralized read-write point of access across the plurality of contentmanagement data sources 1940 a, 1940 b, and 1940 c.

Returning to FIG. 15, at block 1508 of the method 1500, the dataregarding the content object in the content management data source isidentified based on the request at the computing device. The contentmanagement data source may be identified via a universal API.Connectivity across several different content management data sourcesmay be challenging. Each of the content management data sources mayrequire different APIs to establish access. In some implementations, auniversal API may be provided as an abstraction layer that normalizesaccess to a plurality of content management data sources. The universalAPI can provide a single API syntax that facilitates ease ofcommunication with many disparate content management data sources.

Each external content management data source may have a connectoradapted for communicating requests to and from the content managementdata source. Accordingly, the universal API communicates the request toa connector for a specific content management data source. The connectormay be referred to as a repository-specific connector, as discussedabove.

In some implementations, the request can include the information dataidentifying the content object that can be passed through the universalAPI to identify and locate the content management data source. Forexample, the universal API can process the unique content object ID toidentify the particular content management data source storing thecontent object.

The universal API can process a request to access data regarding thecontent object and communicate such a request to a specificrepository-specific connector. By way of an example, the universal APIcan process a request to retrieve metadata from the content object, suchas a request “GetAuthor (file ID, source).” The universal API can writethe request in a universal API syntax so that the request can besubsequently processed and translated for a particular contentmanagement data source API. Thus, the request can be made without havingto define the request according to the syntax of the particular contentmanagement data source. Therefore, the processed request can locate theappropriate file in the appropriate source to retrieve the desiredauthor name of the file.

At block 1512 of the method 1500, the request is provided to arepository-specific connector, where the repository-specific connectoris communicatively coupled with the content management data source. Therepository-specific connector communicates with the content managementdata source through the API of the content management data source. Therepository-specific connector can include code to provide retrievaland/or access of data to and from the content management data source.The code can wrap the API of the content management data source with theuniversal API. In some implementations, the repository-specificconnector can be configured to provide read-write to/from the contentmanagement data source. In some implementations, the repository-specificconnector can be part of a connector server deployed by an entity (e.g.,customer) for the content management data source. For example, theconnector server can be deployed where the content management datasource exists behind a security layer or firewall. In someimplementations, providing the requested data to the repository-specificconnector can be performed through one or both of the universal API anda virtual object.

At block 1516 of the method 1500, access is established with the contentobject to retrieve the data regarding the content object. One or both ofthe abstraction layer in the universal API and the repository-specificconnector can process the request from the on-demand database service togain access to the content object. Upon gaining access, the dataregarding the content object can be retrieved. In some implementations,the data regarding the content object can include metadata that caninclude but is not limited to a title, a source, an author, adescription, a unique ID, a created date, a last modified timestamp, afile size, a URL, etc.

At block 1520 of the method 1500, a virtual object associated with theon-demand database service is created, where the virtual objectinstantiates connection between the content object and the on-demanddatabase service through the repository-specific connector. The virtualobject can be a temporary object that provides an interface between datacoming from the content management data source and one or more APIsemployed by the on-demand database service. The virtual object canfunction like an Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) component, serving asa translation layer between the content management data source and theon-demand database service. The virtual object may be temporarily storedin a memory unit in the on-demand database service and then subsequentlyremoved after use.

In some implementations, the virtual object can create a mapping betweenthe retrieved data coming from the content management data source andthe API format that the on-demand database service is built around. Forexample, if the on-demand database service uses objects having a formatprovided by a standard API in the on-demand database service, then thevirtual object can be created to mimic objects having such a format.Thus, when a user queries for data regarding an external content objectfrom an on-demand database service, and the external content object isnot formatted according to a standard object format in the on-demanddatabase service, the virtual object can be created to represent theexternal content object according to the standard object format.

When data regarding the content object is retrieved from the contentmanagement data source, the data can be mapped to the virtual object.For example, objects in salesforce.com can be formatted as datastructures having tables including columns for data such as author,title, file size, etc. A virtual object can be temporarily created toprovide mapping of retrieved data from the content object to the columnsfor data such as author, title, file size, etc. As such, connectionbetween the content object and the on-demand database service can beinstantiated.

FIG. 20 shows another example of a system diagram 2000 illustratingarchitectural components for establishing access with a plurality ofcontent management data sources, according to some implementations.Similar to FIG. 19, the system diagram 2000 includes a database system2010, middleware components 2020, repository-specific connectors 2030 a,2030 b, and 2030 c, and content management data sources 2040 a, 2040 b,and 2040 c. And like FIG. 19, the repository-specific connectors 2030 a,2030 b, and 2030 c provide communication with their correspondingcontent management data sources 2040 a, 2040 b, and 2040 c.

In the system diagram 2000 in FIG. 20, the architectural components showat least two abstraction layers for interfacing between the databasesystem 2010 and the content management data sources 2040 a, 2040 b, and2040 c. One abstraction layer can include the universal API 2025 thatenables users to write against disparate content management data sourcesin a single API syntax. The universal API 2025 can be part of themiddleware components 2020. This abstraction layer can instantiateconnection between the content management data sources 2040 a, 2040 b,and 2040 c and the database system 2010.

Another abstraction layer can include the virtual object 2015. Thevirtual object 2015 provides a mapping for retrieved data coming from acontent management data source to the database system 2010. An on-demanddatabase service providing the database system 2010 can access the databy querying the virtual object 2015. In other words, the virtual object2015 can provide temporary representation of an external content objectto the on-demand database service. This abstraction layer caninstantiate connection between the content object stored in one of thecontent management data sources 2040 a, 2040 b, and 2040 c and thedatabase system 2010.

In some implementations, as illustrated in the example in FIG. 20, thevirtual object 2015 can communicate with the middleware components 2020,which can facilitate unified access across a plurality of contentmanagement data sources 2040 a, 2040 b, and 2040 c. However, in otherimplementations, the virtual object 2015 can be in direct communicationwith one of the repository-specific connectors 2030 a, 2030 b, and 2030c. In such instances, communication of data might not pass through acentralized content hub, but separately through individual connectors.

Returning to FIG. 15, at block 1524 of the method 1500, the requesteddata regarding the content object is provided to a display deviceoperable to display the requested data regarding the content object in auser interface for the on-demand database service. The user interfacecan include, for example, a social layer of an online social network oronline business application, where the social layer is accessible to aplurality of users in the online social network or online businessapplication. Data can be exposed in the user interface so that the userscan view or otherwise interact with the data. For example, the data caninclude metadata such as a title, a source, an author, a file size, etc.

In some implementations, the requested data regarding the content objectcan be stored in a persistent object in a database of the on-demanddatabase service. The persistent object can provide persistentrepresentation of the content object. The content object can be accessedby information data identifying the content object, where theinformation data identifying the content object can be stored in thepersistent object. While the persistent object may not store actualcontent (e.g., blob) of a content object, the persistent object mayrepresent the content objet by including a pointer (e.g., URL) to theactual content and including other data regarding the content object. Insome implementations, the persistent object can have a databasestructure in the form of a table with various data fields logicallyarranged as columns. The persistent object can behave and function likea record in the on-demand database service. The persistent object canfacilitate access to the external content object without having thecontent object be moved to or replicated in the on-demand databaseservice.

In some implementations, providing the requested data regarding thecontent object can include providing a selectable component for thepersistent object to the display device operable to display theselectable component in the user interface for the on-demand databaseservice. For instance, the selectable component can serve as a hyperlinkto take an entity directly to the URL of the content object. Theselectable component can include but is not limited to an icon, abutton, a link, a reference, or a string of characters. Selection of theselectable component can initiate an action, such as opening the contentobject via the URL or unique content object ID, downloading the contentobject via the URL or unique content object ID, and opening a detailedinformation page view regarding the persistent object.

In some implementations, the method 1500 can further include determiningthat the user has permission to access the data regarding the contentobject. Various schemes can be employed to authenticate users to theexternal content management data source, which is discussed in moredetail below. Security and access permissions may be controlled by thecontent management data source of the content object. In someimplementations, the security and access permissions may be controlledby a third-party broker.

In some instances, the content management data source can be anon-premise content management data source. Examples of on-premisecontent management data sources can include SharePoint and Documentum.In some implementations, the method 1500 can further include traversinga security layer between the on-demand database service and theon-premise content management data source. System architectures fortraversing a security layer can be described with reference to FIGS.21-23.

FIG. 21 shows an example of a system diagram 2100 illustrating anon-demand database service in communication with a data center havingon-premise content management data sources, according to someimplementations. A data center 2155 can include a plurality of datasources 2140 a and 2140 b, including content management data sources.The content management data sources can include on-premise contentmanagement data sources, such as Documentum, SharePoint, and FileNet.The data sources 2140 a and 2140 b are external to an on-demand databaseservice 2105. In some implementations, the on-demand database service2105 may be part of a first network domain managed by a first dataprovider, and the data sources 2140 a and 2140 b may be part of a secondnetwork domain managed by one or more second data providers. In someimplementations, the data source 2140 a and the data source 2140 b maybe managed by different data providers, or may be managed by the samedata provider. In some instances, two data sources 2140 a and 2140 bfrom the same data provider may result in different sites accessible todifferent entities. The on-demand database service 2105 may be separatedfrom the data center 2155 by a security layer or firewall 2150. Thesecurity layer 2150 can limit inbound connections to the data sources2140 a and 2140 b.

To access the data sources 2140 a and 2140 b, the on-demand databaseservice 2105 may traverse the security layer 2150. In someimplementations, connector servers 2130 a and 2130 b may exist orotherwise be deployed behind the security layer 2150. Connector servers2130 a and 2130 b may establish inbound connections with theircorresponding data sources 2140 a and 2140 b. In some implementations,the connector servers 2130 a and 2130 b may include repository-specificconnectors customized to establish read-write access to/from theircorresponding data sources 2140 a and 2140 b.

To communicate with the connector servers 2130 a and 2130 b, connectionmay be established between a secure transport server 2120 and one ormore secure transport clients 2135 a and 2135 b through secure transportcommunication channels 2125. Process calls and requests may be madeto/from the on-demand database service 2105 and the data center 2155through the secure transport communication channels 2125. The securetransport communication channels 2125 may be a full-duplex securetransport tunnel. In some implementations, the full-duplex securetransport tunnel may be a Websocket protocol.

The secure transport server 2120 may be part of the on-demand databaseservice 2105, and the secure transport clients 2135 a and 2135 b may bepart of the data center 2155. In some implementations, a customer maydeploy or otherwise provide a component that includes a secure transportclient and a connector server, such as secure transport clients 2135 aand 2135 b and connector servers 2140 a and 2140 b. The component caninclude, for example, a Linux box. Each connector server 2130 a and 2130b can be configured to connect to their corresponding data sources 2140a and 2140 b. The secure transport clients 2135 a and 2135 b can beconfigured to connect with the secure transport server 2120.

The on-demand database service 2105 may include one or more middlewarecomponents that provide a centralized read-write point of access for theon-demand database service 2105 to connected data sources 2140 a and2140 b, which can be referred to as a content hub 2110. The content hub2110 may be implemented as a set of features or as an applicationplatform. Any requests made in the on-demand database service 2105 maybe sent to the content hub 2110. The content hub 2110 then forwards therequests to the secure transport server 2120, which can be passedthrough an API 2115. The requests may then be forwarded to a connectorserver 2130 a or 2130 b via the secure transport communication channel2125. The connector server 2130 a or 2130 b connects to a correspondingdata source 2140 a or 2140 b to execute the request. A response may besent back from the connector server 2130 a or 2130 b to the securetransport server 2120 via the secure transport communication channel2125. The response may be forwarded to the content hub 2110, which maythen be sent back to the on-demand database service 2105. Accordingly,interactions with content in the data sources 2140 a and 2140 b can passsignals through such a sequence of operations in the system diagram2100.

In some implementations, secure transport communication channel 2125 notonly can provide for communication between the secure transport server2120 and the secure transport clients 2135 a and 2135 b, but also canprovide for a secure connection. In some implementations, a computingdevice, such as a secure transport server 2120, may determine thatauthentication credentials for a connector server 2130 a or 2130 b arevalid through the secure transport communication channel 2125. Thesecure transport communication channel 2125 may forward authenticationrequests and authentication credentials to the connector server 2130 aor 2130 b at the corresponding secure transport client 2135 a or 2135 b.A determination can be made that the authentication credentials arevalid. Thus, a request to access any of the data sources 2140 a and 2140b through the secure transport communication channel 2125 may beauthenticated.

In some implementations, the secure transport client 2135 a or 2135 bcan be identified using an addressing scheme indicatingorganization-site-product-process (OSPR) for the corresponding datasource 2140 a or 2140 b. An OSPR token authenticates the securetransport client 2135 a or 2135 b and is used to request routing by thesecure transport server 2120. An OSPR token may be provided from thesecure transport client 2135 a or 2135 b each time a connection isestablished with the secure transport server 2120. The secure transportserver 2120 can validate that the received OSPR token originates from asecure transport client 2135 a or 2135 b if it is “white-listed” orotherwise known by the secure transport server 2120. In someimplementations, the OSPR token may be embedded in a client certificate.

FIG. 22 shows another example of a system diagram 2200 illustrating anon-demand database service in communication with a data center havingon-premise content management data sources, according to some otherimplementations. A data center 2255 can include at least two datasources 2240 a and 2240 b separated from an on-demand database service2205 by a security layer 2250. The security layer 2250 can be traversedby establishing connection between a secure transport server 2220 and asecure transport client 2235 via a secure transport communicationchannel 2225. As illustrated in the example in FIG. 22, a content hub2210 can send requests via an API 2215 to the secure transport server2220, which then forwards the request to a connector server 2230 via thesecure transport communication channel 2225. The connector server 2230can connect to at least two data sources 2240 a and 2240 b. In someimplementations, the connector server 2230 can harness multiplecustomized connectors to connect to multiple data sources 2240 a and2240 b. In some implementations, the connector server 2230 can employ asingle customized connector to connect to multiple data sources 2240 aand 2240 b, where the data sources 2240 a and 2240 b may be managed by asingle data provider. For example, the data sources 2240 a and 2240 bcan include different sites accessible to different entities.

FIG. 23 shows an example of a system diagram 2300 illustrating a systemarchitecture for establishing access with an external content managementdata source from an on-demand database service, according to someimplementations. A data center 2355 can include at least one data source2340 external to an on-demand database service 2305. In someimplementations, the data source 2340 may be separated from theon-demand database service 2305 by a security layer (not shown), inwhich case a secure transport communication channel 2325 may be providedto traverse the security layer between a secure transport server 2320and a secure transport client 2335. A connector server 2330 may beconfigured to provide read-write access to/from the data source 2340. Acontent hub 2310 may include one or more middleware components toprovide an interface between the on-demand database service 2305 and thedata source 2340 so that content objects stored in the data source 2340can be accessed as if they were native to the on-demand database service2305.

The on-demand database service 2305 may include a multi-tenant databasesystem managed by a data provider, such as salesforce.com. For example,the multi-tenant database system may include a social networking system,such as Chatter®. The data source 2340 may include a content managementdata source, such as Dropbox, Box.net, Google Drive, SharePoint,FileNet, Documentum, Skydrive, etc.

The on-demand database service 2305 can include various database-storedprocedures and methods, such as applications 2301, searches 2302,object-oriented programming code 2303, persistent objects 2304, and thelike. The database-stored procedures and methods may be processedthrough a virtual object API 2306. The virtual object API 2306 caninclude virtual objects that provide mapping for data coming from thedata source 2340 to the on-demand database service 2305. Inimplementations with using salesforce.com, applications 2301 caninclude, for example, Force.com, Work.com, Data.com, Visualforce.com,and other applications provided by salesforce.com to interface with thevirtual object API 2306. Searches 2302 can take user input to performfederated searches across the at least one data source 2340 using thevirtual object API 2306. Object-oriented programming code can allowdevelopers to execute flow and transaction control statements on thevirtual object API 2306. Persistent objects 2304 provide persistentrepresentations of content objects stored in the data source 2340, wheredata regarding the content object may be described in the virtual objectin the virtual object API 2306.

The virtual object API 2306 can process the database-stored proceduresand methods and submit them to an internal content hub API 2308. Theinternal content hub API 2308 can forward such submissions to thecontent hub 2310. The internal content hub API 2308 can serve as agateway for database-stored procedures and methods that go through thecontent hub 2310.

In some implementations, various process calls and requests may be madeby users and/or applications from within the on-demand database service2305 or external to the on-demand database service 2305. Process callsand requests made external to the on-demand database service 2305 may gothrough a user/public API 2312. The user/public API 2312 then forwardsthe requests to the internal content hub API 2308. The user/public API2312 may process requests that include content not addressable by thevirtual object API 2306. Requests from the user/public API or virtualobject API 2306 may be forwarded to the connector server 2330 throughthe content hub 2310 and secure transport communication channel 2325.Requests and responses between the on-demand database service 2305 andthe data source 2340 may undergo a sequence of operations similar to thesequence of operations described earlier with respect to FIGS. 21 and22.

XIII. Providing Access to External Content in an On-Demand DatabaseService

When access to an external data source is established from an on-demanddatabase service, data regarding a content object may be retrieved fromthe external data source. At least some of the data can be stored in apersistent object in a database of the on-demand database service. Thepersistent object can provide a persistent representation of the contentobject in the on-demand database system without replicating the contentobject in the on-demand database service or causing the content objectto leave its original source. The persistent object may be madeaccessible to a plurality of users in the on-demand database service.The persistent object can be viewed, indexed, searched, commented upon,recommended to other users, liked, followed, shared, accessed,propagated, collaborated upon, moved, edited, updated, deleted, andotherwise interacted with in the context of an online social network oronline business application. This can provide users with socialcollaborative capabilities with respect to third-party content in thecontext of an on-demand database service.

FIG. 16 shows a flowchart of an example of a computer-implemented method1600 for providing access in an on-demand database service to a contentobject stored in an external content management data source, performedin accordance with some implementations. The method 1600 may bedescribed with reference to some examples illustrated in FIGS. 24-35.

At block 1604 of the method 1600, information data identifying a contentobject is received at a computing device, where the content object isstored in a content management data source external to the on-demanddatabase service. In some implementations, the on-demand databaseservice can include cloud-based services, including services for onlinebusiness applications and online social networks. In someimplementations, the content management data source can be any datarepository that manages and stores content. The content management datasource can be hosted on a network domain separate from the networkdomain of the on-demand database service. The content object can includeany data type. As used herein, the content management data source may bereferred to as a “third-party repository” and the content object may bereferred to as a “third-party file.”

A process call can be made to the content object or third-party filestored in the data repository. The process call can include instructionsfor locating and retrieving the content object so that the contentobject can be delivered to an end user. However, the content object doesnot necessarily leave its data repository. Instructions can includeinformation data identifying the content object. In someimplementations, information data identifying the content object caninclude a URL to the content object or a content object identifier (ID)to the content object. The content object ID can include a title, asource, a URL, and/or a unique identification (ID) of the contentobject. Information data identifying the content object can furtherinclude other metadata. In some implementations, the information dataidentifying the content object can be provided by an entity and receivedat a computing device.

In some implementations, the information data identifying the contentobject can be provided by user input via an API. FIG. 24 shows anexample of an API for creating a persistent object representing acontent object. A process call to the content object can be made via thepersistent object. The persistent object can be created using theinformation data identifying the content object.

As illustrated in the example in FIG. 24, the API 2400 includes a table2401 having a plurality of fields 2402. At least some of the fields 2402can represent data fields for identifying a content object stored in athird-party repository. A user can provide information data identifyingthe content object by manually inputting values into each of the values2403 of the table 2401. In some implementations, the user can providevalues by applying a “smart lookup” 2404 to select values that can beautomatically generated.

In providing information data identifying the content object, a contentlocation 2405 can be identified. In the example in FIG. 24, a value of“E” is indicated to show that the content location 2405 is external tothe on-demand database service. In addition, an External Data Source ID2406 can be identified to determine the source of the content object.The value in the External Data Source ID 2406 can be represented by astring of characters indicating a unique ID of the external datarepository, which can be scraped from a browser URL bar when viewing thethird-party repository. Alternatively, the External Data Source ID 2406can be specified from another API as shown in FIGS. 25 and 26. UnderExternal Document Info1 2407, a string of characters can be indicated toshow the URL or remainder of the URL pointing to the content object. TheExternal Data Source ID 2406 and the External Document Info1 2407 cancollectively provide the URL to the content object. Furthermore, anorigin 2408 can be specified by the user to indicate what kind of objectthe persistent object will be and where the persistent object will bestored. In FIG. 24, a value of “H” is provided to show that thepersistent object will be a Chatter® file and stored in a database inChatter®. A Path On Client 2409 can be specified to indicate theoriginal source of content object and the content object's extension.This data can be used to open the appropriate application when accessingthe content object. For example, the document extension of *.doc canprovide instructions to the computing device to open the content objectusing Microsoft Word or other word processing application. A Title 2410can be provided to indicate the title of the content object for displayin a user interface.

In some implementations, the information data identifying the contentobject can be automatically generated. In particular, the values forproviding identification of the content object can be automaticallygenerated based on previously known values or default values. Ratherthan manually entering information data identifying the content object,such data can be machine or system-generated. For example,identification of the URL of the content object or the ID of the sourcecan automatically generate a value for Content Location 2405. In anotherexample, identification of the URL or can automatically generate a valuefor the Title 2410 by scraping a portion of the URL.

In some implementations, the information data identifying the contentobject may be provided in a manner other than through API 2400, such asthrough computer programming instructions shown below:

var cv=new sforce.SObject(“ContentVersion”);

cv.Origin=‘H’; cv.ContentLocation=‘E’;

cv.ExtemalDataSourceld=‘OXCD0000000005z’;

cv.ExtemalDocumentInfo1=‘/sites/sfde/sandbox/Shared%20Documents/Marketing %20brochure.docx’;

cv.PathOnClient=‘https://sp.marketing.fisker.com/sites/sfdc/sandbox/SharedDocuments/Fiskermarketingguidelines.docx’;

cv.Title=‘Fisker Marketing Guidelines”;

sforce.connection.create([cv]);

In some implementations, the information data identifying the contentobject may be retrieved from the third-party repository. As will bediscussed in more detail below with respect to FIGS. 32A and 32B, abrowser plug-in or other client application may enable communicationbetween the third-party repository and the on-demand database service.By way of an example, such communication may facilitate publication ofan external content object to a social layer (e.g., information feed) ofthe on-demand database service from the third-party repository. Theinformation data identifying the content object may be automaticallygenerated by pulling data from the third-party repository. Such data canbe provided in a persistent object corresponding to the content objectand stored in a database of the on-demand database service.

In some implementations, identification of the third-party repositorycan be independently specified through an API. FIG. 25 shows an exampleof a user interface for identifying an external data source to access.The external data source can be a website hosting content. A userinterface 2500 can provide an API 2501 for defining the location of theserver on which the external content object resides. In someimplementations, the user can be a system administrator who can defineas many data sources external to the on-demand database service asdesired. The user can provide a Label 2502 for the external data source,which constitutes the name of the external data source to be displayedto users in the on-demand database service. The user can provide a Name2503 for the external data source, which can refer to the internal nameof the external data source. The user can further identify a Type 2504for establishing the type of connection to access the external datasource, which can be through a simple URL. Furthermore, the user canspecify the server URL 2505 in which the external data source resides,and the user can select an icon 2506 to represent the external datasource. Additionally, the user can choose the means of authenticatingthe user to the external data source by selecting the Identity Type 2507(e.g., anonymous) and Authentication Protocol 2508 (e.g., noauthentication).

FIG. 26 shows an example of a user interface for identifying an externalcontent management data source to access. The external contentmanagement data source can be an on-premise content management datasource. A user interface 2600 can provide an API 2601 for defining thelocation of the external content management data source. The user canprovide a Label 2602 and a Name 2603 for the external content managementdata source. The user can further identify a Type 2604 for establishingthe type of connection to access the external content management datasource. As illustrated in the example in FIG. 26, the type of connectioncan be through a content hub and SharePoint connection. Furthermore, theuser can specify the server URL 2605 in which the external contentmanagement data source resides. Additionally, the user can choose themeans of authenticating the user to the external data repository byselecting the Identity Type 2607 (e.g., per user) and AuthenticationProtocol 2608 (e.g., basic authentication). Authentication can includingproviding the username 2609 and password 2610 credentials toauthenticate from the on-demand database service or having theauthentication occur at the external content management data source.

FIG. 27 shows an example of a settings page and details page forpreviously identified accessible external data sources. The details page2710 displays a list of external objects 2711, such as a SharePointexternal data source 2712. Selection of the SharePoint external datasource 2712 can redirect the user to a settings page 2700 for theSharePoint external data source 2712. The settings page 2700 can displaya Label 2702, a Name 2703, a Type 2704 of connection, and a server URL2705 for the SharePoint external data source 2712 corresponding to someof the values provided in FIG. 26. The settings page 2700 can furtherdisplay an Identity Type 2707, an Authentication Protocol 2708, and ausername 2709 corresponding to values provided in FIG. 26. With respectto the user interfaces and pages in FIGS. 25-27, management ofauthorized connections with external data sources can be performedthrough a system administrator or other appropriate entity.

Returning to FIG. 16, at block 1608 of the method 1600, the informationdata identifying the content object is communicated to the contentmanagement data source through one or more middleware components. Asdescribed earlier, the one or more middleware components can include acollection of software components, API components, and other associatedinfrastructure that allows for integrated access of content stored inexternal data repositories with the on-demand database service. The oneor more middleware components may be configured to instantiateconnection between the on-demand database service and the contentmanagement data source. The one or more middleware components may bereferred to as a content hub. In some implementations, communication ofthe information data identifying the content object to the contentmanagement data source may undergo a series of operations through theone or more middleware components as described earlier in Section XII.

At block 1612 of the method 1600, access is established by the one ormore middleware components with the content object to retrieve dataregarding the content object, as generally described above at block 1516of the method 1500. In some implementations, access is established withthe content object via the content object identifier. Upon gainingaccess, the data regarding the content object can be retrieved. In someimplementations, the data regarding the content object can includemetadata that can include but is not limited to a title, a source, anauthor, a description, a unique ID, a created date, a last modifiedtimestamp, a file size, a URL, etc.

In some implementations, establishing access with the content object maynecessitate authorizing the communication with the content managementdata source. A content hub can manage a list of authorized connectionswith connectors or connector servers of external data sources. FIG. 28shows an example of a user interface for administering authorizedconnections to one or more external content management data sources. Auser, such as a system administrator, can launch a content hubapplication 2810 to cause the user interface 2800 to display a list ofexternal data sources 2820. The user can authorize which of the externaldata sources 2820 to establish a connection with. The user can check offwhether to Enable Federated Search 2830 for the external data source andcan also Manage Settings 2840 for the external data source.

By way of an example, a system administrator can receive an IP addressof each new connector server and register it in the on-demand databaseservice. That way, the content hub can avoid processing responsesoriginating from an unknown connector server.

One example of a connection flow for registering a connector server canproceed as follows: a customer can provide a new remote connector serverand install a customized connector for communicating with an externalcontent management data source. An IP and OSPR token are generated andstored in a database of the on-demand database service. A clientcertificate can also be generated. The customer can provide proxycredentials for accessing the remote connector server. The customer canlaunch the connector for the remote connector server. A secure transportclient communicates with a secure transport server via a transport layersecurity (TLS) tunnel such that the connector server can send an IP andOSPR token to the secure transport server. The secure transport servercan validate that the values match the ones stored in the on-demanddatabase service during installation and that the IP address is stillactive. The secure transport server registers the remote connectorserver node.

From the standpoint of a user, validation of an external data source mayproceed by identifying external data sources from API 2601 in FIG. 26 orAPI 2701 in FIG. 27. When the external data source is validated, it mayappear in a list of available external data sources that a user mayauthorize connection to as shown in the user interface 2800 in FIG. 28.

When the external data source is validated, the content hub can sendrequests along with the appropriate OSPR token from the on-demanddatabase service to the target remote connector server node. The remoteconnector server node can process the requests and send responses backto the content hub.

In some implementations, a determination can be made that the user haspermission to access the external data source. A user can beauthenticated by providing a user's access credentials. Accesscredentials can include a username and password. Access credentials forauthentication may be provided from an API 2601 in FIG. 26 or API 2701in FIG. 27, for example. In some implementations, Open Authorization(OAuth) may provide secure credential management for API authorization.Access credentials may include an API key or an OAuth bearer token toallow the database of the on-demand database service to access and makechanges to data regarding a content object in a content management datasource.

A system administrator can limit access to external data sources byenabling or disabling content hub to certain users. FIG. 29 shows anexample of a user interface for administering the types of user accountsauthorized to access one or more external data sources. The userinterface 2900 includes a tab labeled Manage Users 2901 where the systemadministrator can select Profiles 2902. The system administrator canselect from among a number of user accounts 2911, such as a StandardUser. When the system administrator selects Edit 2912, a user interfacefor managing the permissions of the user account can be displayed. FIG.30 shows an example of a user interface for administering thepermissions of the user accounts in accessing the one or more externaldata sources. The user interface 3000 includes a number of checkboxesfor managing permissions of the user account, including an EnableContent Hub 3001 checkbox. Once content hub is enabled to the useraccount, the system administrator can further determine which externaldata sources are exposed for access to the user account.

Returning to FIG. 16, at block 1616 of the method 1600, the dataregarding the content object is stored in a persistent object in adatabase of the on-demand database service, where the persistent objectrepresents the content object in the on-demand database service andincludes the information data identifying the content object. In someimplementations, the persistent object can have a database structure inthe form of a table with various data fields logically arranged ascolumns. For example, the persistent object can represent a contentfolder including a plurality of content files, where each row canrepresent a content file and the columns can represent metadata.Alternatively, the persistent object can be represented as a single rowin a larger database table. For example, the row can represent a contentfile and the columns in the database table can represent metadata,including but not limited to a title, a description, a source, a uniqueID, an author, a created date, a date modified, and a URL. A persistentobject in the database table may provide at least some values for theone or more data fields, though some of the data fields may be leftblank.

In some implementations, the persistent object does not store actualcontent (e.g., blob) of a content object, but the persistent object canact and behave like a content object (e.g., record). For example, thepersistent object can provide persistent representation of thecorresponding content object by including a pointer (e.g., URL) to theactual content of the content object. The persistent object can have adata structure like any other content object that may be native to theon-demand database service. In other words, the persistent object canbehave and function like a record in the on-demand database service. Thedifference is that the persistent object may include different datafields from a record, including data identifying the content object andan indicator that the content object is external. By way of an example,the persistent object in the database can indicate that there's anexternal SharePoint document with a unique ID of 123456789 and locatedon the SharePoint server atwww.office.microsoft.com/sharepoint/123456789.doc. The persistent objectmay also include data such as a file's name, creation date, owner, andother metadata. In some instances, the persistent object can store anaccess-controlled preview of the content object. The persistent objectcan maintain a persistent relationship with the content object in thedatabase of the on-demand database service, regardless of changes madeor interactions performed in the external data source.

Without necessarily replicating the content object or causing thecontent object to leave its original source, the persistent object canenable users to interact with third-party content in a socialcollaborative context by performing various operations through thepersistent object. The persistent object can serve as an interfacebetween content stored in external content objects and functionalityprovided in an on-demand database service. For example, the persistentobject may be generated to display in a user interface of display deviceas a selectable component.

At block 1620 of the method 1600, a selectable component for thepersistent object is provided to a display device operable to displaythe selectable component in a user interface for the on-demand databaseservice. In some implementations, the selectable component for thepersistent object includes a copy of the content object. In someimplementations, the selectable component for the persistent objectincludes a URL or content object ID of the content object. Theselectable component can serve as a hyperlink to take an entity directlyto the URL or content object ID of the content object. The selectablecomponent can include but is not limited to an icon, a button, a link, areference, or a string of characters. Selection of the selectablecomponent can initiate an action, such as opening the content object viathe URL or content object ID, downloading the content object via the URLor content object ID, and opening a detailed information page viewregarding the persistent object.

In some implementations, the selectable component may be provided in asocial layer of the on-demand database service, such as a group, arecord, an organization, a content management files list, an informationfeed, or a user profile. The social layer may be accessible to aplurality of users in the on-demand database service. This provides aninterface for sharing and collaboration of external content through thepersistent object. Users can access, share, search, index, comment,like, recommend, edit, update, delete, and otherwise interact with thepersistent object as if the persistent object were any other record inthe on-demand database service. In one example, a user can publish thepersistent object from SharePoint to a Chatter® feed, as will bediscussed in more detail with respect to FIGS. 32A and 32B. In anotherexample, a user can publish the persistent object from Chatter® and intoa Chatter® feed.

In some implementations, one or more graphical representations regardingthe content object are exposed for display in the user interface by thedisplay device, where the exposed graphical representations depend atleast in part on the data source. The one or more graphicalrepresentations can accompany the selectable component in the userinterface. The one or more graphical representations can be displayed inthe form of GUI buttons, links, tabs, channels, icons, images,animations, menus, string of characters, and the like.

What is exposed in the user interface can depend on the source of thecontent object. If the source of the content object is Dropbox, agraphical representation can indicate such information by showing anicon representing Dropbox. The persistent object as rendered in the userinterface can present both (1) a selectable component directing a userto a content object via a URL or unique content object ID and (2) one ormore graphical representations that are “polymorphic.” What this meansis that the persistent object can identify its source and renderdifferent information or representations of information depending on itsidentified source in the user interface.

In some implementations, the one or more graphical representations caninclude metadata, where metadata is rendered depending on the identifiedsource of the content object. Metadata can include but is not limited toat least one of a title, a source, a file size, an author, a createddate, a last modified timestamp, etc. Thus, what metadata is exposedregarding the content object can depend on the identified source of thecontent object.

In some implementations, the one or more graphical representations caninclude one or more actionable selections configured to interact withthe content object. Once the source of the content object is identified,the one or more graphical representations can provide differentcapabilities and functions depending on the source of the content objectwithout actually retrieving the content object from the source itself.By way of an example, if a link to a SharePoint document is provided inthe user interface, an actionable selection can accompany the link toallow a user to “Check In” or “Check Out” the SharePoint document. Inanother example, if a link to an EverNote file is provided in the userinterface, an actionable selection can accompany the link to allow auser to author directly into the EverNote file within a preview window.In some implementations, interactions via the actionable selections aremade to the persistent object and subsequently written to thecorresponding content object.

FIG. 31 shows an example of a user interface including a plurality ofselectable components for persistent objects for content stored in aplurality of external data sources. A user interface 3100 can display aplurality of files in a single portal regardless of whether the filesare external to a database or the files are native to the database.Hence, a user can be provided with unified access to all their fileslocated across many different data sources, allowing access to boththird-party content files and native content files using the on-demanddatabase service.

In FIG. 31, the user interface 3100 can include a plurality of filesorganized under Name 3110 and accompanied with Actions 3120. Under Name3110, each of the files can include a title identifying a name for thefile. Each of the files can include a first icon to the left of its nameidentifying the type of file, such as a Microsoft Word document, aMicrosoft Excel spreadsheet, a JPEG image, etc. In some implementations,the first icon may include a lock symbol to indicate that the file hasrestrictions for access. Each of the files can also include a secondicon to the right of its name identifying the source of the file, suchas EverNote, Dropbox, SharePoint, etc. An EverNote file 3101 named“Test” can display an EverNote icon 3111, a JPEG image 3102 named “CostaRican Frog” can display a Dropbox icon 3112, and a Microsoft Worddocument file 3104 named “Sales Strategies 2012” can display aSharePoint icon 3114. Each of the icons 3111, 3112, and 3114 can berendered into the user interface 3100 upon identification of the sourceof the external file. The rendering of the icons 3111, 3112, and 3114may be independent of user input. Some of the icons 3111, 3112, and 3114may be generated from specifying an external data repository in an API.Some files may simply reference content stored on a website, such as aTech Crunch article 3103 on www.techcrunch.com. Other files mayreference content native to the on-demand database service, such as theMicrosoft Word document file 3105 entitled “How to convert the Amblerload.” Actions 3120 allow a user to initiate actions on the files, suchas opening the file, downloading the file, or opening a detailedinformation page view regarding the file.

In some implementations, providing the selectable component includespresenting the selectable component to a display device operable todisplay the selectable component in an information feed for theon-demand database service. FIG. 33 shows an example of a user interfacewith a published feed item having a reference to a persistent object inan information feed. In FIG. 33, a user interface 3300 can be displayedin an online social network for a group 3350. The user interface 3300can include a publisher 3305 and an information feed 3320, where thepublisher 3305 may be configured to publish information to theinformation feed 3320. The information feed 3320 can include a pluralityof feed items related to the group 3350. A feed item 3321 can include areference 3322, which can reference a persistent object corresponding toa Microsoft Word document entitled “Olympic Bicycles 2013 Product Line.”The Microsoft Word document may be stored in an external data source,such as SharePoint. A user may initiate an action by clicking anactionable selection 3323. The action can open the content object via aURL or unique content object ID stored in the persistent object uponclicking the actionable selection 3323.

In some implementations, providing the selectable component includespresenting the selectable component for a display device operable todisplay the selectable component in a content management files list forthe on-demand database service. FIG. 34 shows an example of a userinterface of a content management files list presenting a reference tothe persistent object. In FIG. 34, a user interface 3400 can bedisplayed for a files tab 3450. The files tab 3450 can include a contentmanagement files list 3410 that includes a plurality of files 3420. Theplurality of files 3420 may be integrated across the on-demand databaseservice for an entity, including native files and external files.Therefore, as shown in the example in FIG. 34, the content managementfiles list 3410 can include one or more selectable components forpersistent objects corresponding to external content objects as well asone or more selectable components for files stored in the database ofthe on-demand database service. A reference 3421 to a persistent objectcorresponding to a file stored in an external data repository can bedisplayed in the content management files list 3410. The reference 3421may be accompanied with an icon 3422 indicating the source of the file,such as an icon for SharePoint. Other references in the plurality offiles 3420 may have an icon 3424 indicating that the file is native tothe on-demand database service. A user may initiate an action byclicking an actionable selection 3423, which may be configured to openthe file, download the file, share the file, or open a detailedinformation page view regarding the file.

In some implementations, a search may be performed across the pluralityof files 3420, each of the files representing content files storedacross a plurality of content management data sources. The search mayprovide federated search results in a user interface of the displaydevice.

In some implementations, the database of the on-demand database servicemay be synchronized with a storage medium of the display device, wherethe storage medium includes a plurality of native files. The database ofthe on-demand database service can be updated to include the pluralityof native files. In some implementations, a user may upload one or morenative files from the storage medium of the display device. Accordingly,the plurality of files 3420 can include both native files and contentfiles stored across a plurality of external content management datasources.

In some implementations, a user input may select the selectablecomponent in the method 1600. The user input may be transmitted to thecomputing device as a signal to initiate an action with respect to thecontent object. The signal can include instructions requesting access tothe content object in the external data source, where the request caninclude a URL or a unique content object ID. The URL or unique contentobject ID may be taken from the persistent object when the selectablecomponent is selected. The action can then initiate opening, sharing, ordownloading the content object from the external data source to bedelivered to the user.

Even when the user requests access to an external content object tointeract with the external content object, the external content objectmay continue to remain in its original source. In some instances, theexternal content object may not get copied and duplicated into thedatabase of the on-demand database service. Furthermore, security andaccess permissions may be controlled by the original source. When a useris taken to the content object for access, authentication can occur atthe source of the content object.

In some implementations, the user input selecting the selectablecomponent can initiate an action to open a detailed information pageregarding the persistent object corresponding to the external contentobject. Different information and capabilities can be displayed in thedetailed information page depending on the source of the content object.FIG. 35 shows an example of a user interface including a detailedinformation page displaying data regarding a persistent object. A userinterface 3500 for a detailed information page includes a title orreference 3511 to the persistent object corresponding to the contentobject, and a source 3512 of the content object. The user interface 3500can further include additional metadata 3513 regarding the persistentobject. This can include when the persistent object was originallyshared, by whom the persistent object was originally shared, and whenthe persistent object was last modified. In addition, the user interface3500 can include capabilities 3514 for interacting with the externalcontent object via the persistent object, such as opening the contentobject from the external data source, deleting the content object, andediting file sharing settings. In some implementations, a preview window3515 may display a preview of the content object. However, previews maybe unavailable for content objects stored in external contentrepositories, such as when the user does not have permission to accessthe external content repository. The user interface 3500 can alsoinclude a description 3516, which can be added by a user input to thepersistent object corresponding to the content object. In someimplementations, changes to data regarding the persistent object can bewritten to the corresponding content object. Accordingly, a descriptionprovided from a SharePoint document can be updated by a user using theon-demand database service, and the updates can be subsequently saved toSharePoint.

FIGS. 32A-35 show various stages and aspects of providing andpropagating a selectable component for a persistent object to varioussocial layers of an on-demand database service, where the persistentobject represents an external content object. FIGS. 32A and 32B showthat the selectable component for the persistent object can be providedfrom the external data source into the social layer. For example, aplug-in, webpart, or other client application can be provided in theexternal data source to facilitate access to the on-demand databaseservice. FIGS. 33 and 34 show that the reference to the persistentobject can be propagated in an information feed as well as a contentmanagement files list. FIG. 35 shows an example of a detailedinformation page of data regarding the persistent object upon openingthe reference.

FIG. 32A shows an example of a user interface for accessing an externalcontent management data source with a plug-in for publishing to anon-demand database service. The external content source can have an APIfor exposing a social media page of the on-demand database service. TheAPI can include a browser plug-in that facilitates communication betweena third-party page and the browser page. Here, a SharePoint site exposesa Chatter page with a Chatter feed, allowing access to a salesforce.comsite from SharePoint.

In FIG. 32A, a user interface 3200 includes a Chatter Page 3250 having apublisher 3205 and an information feed 3220. The publisher 3205 can beconfigured to publish information to the information feed 3220. Theinformation feed 3220 can include one or more feed items 3221 providingupdates to the information feed 3220. A user can choose to attach a file3210 in the publisher 3205 to publish into the information feed 3220.The user can choose from a plurality of files stored in the SharePointcontent management data source.

FIG. 32B shows an example of a user interface of FIG. 32A updated toinclude a published feed item having a reference corresponding to acontent object stored in the external content management data source.After a user selects a file stored in the SharePoint content managementdata source, the user can select Share 3211 in the publisher 3205 toprovide a reference 3222 in a feed item 3221 of the information feed3220. The feed item 3221 can also include a message accompanying thereference as well as a timestamp of the posted feed item 3221. Users canalso have the option to comment and/or like the feed item 3221.

FIG. 33 shows an example of a user interface with the published feeditem from FIG. 32B provided in an information feed of an on-demanddatabase service. A user interface 3300 includes a Group page 3350 thatmirrors the Chatter page 3250 in FIGS. 32A and 32B. The Group page 3350includes a publisher 3350 and an information feed 3320, where theinformation feed 3320 includes a feed item 3321 having a reference 3322corresponding to the file stored in the SharePoint content managementdata source. The reference 3322 may be to a persistent object stored ina database of the on-demand database service. While the persistentobject behaves as a record in the database of the on-demand databaseservice, the persistent object may not be the external content object ora copy of the external content object itself. The persistent object maynot be synchronized with the external content object. Rather, thepersistent object corresponds to the external content object andincludes a URL or unique content object ID of the external contentobject. A user can access the external content object through thepersistent object while having the external content object remain in itsoriginal data source. In FIG. 33, the user can click an actionableselection 3323 to open or otherwise initiate an action to interact withthe external content object through the persistent object.

FIG. 34 shows an example of an example of a user interface displaying acontent files list including the reference to the content object storedin the external content management data source from FIG. 32B. A userinterface 3400 includes a content management files list 3410 displayinga plurality of files 3420. The plurality of files 3420 can include areference 3421 corresponding to the file stored in the SharePointcontent management data source. Like the reference 3322 in FIG. 33, thereference 3421 is to the persistent object in the database of theon-demand database system. When the reference 3322 is provided in asocial layer of the on-demand database service, the reference 3322 canbe shared and propagated into other social layers of the on-demanddatabase service, such as the content management files list 3410. In thecontent management files list 3410, the reference 3421 is providedalongside files that are native to the on-demand database service andother references that correspond to other external content objects. Thefiles and references can be ones that are owned by the user, shared withthe user, and followed by the user. The files and references can beindexed and searchable within the database. Therefore, the persistentobject represented by the reference 3421 can be indexed and searchablealongside other objects stored in the database. The user can uploadadditional files into the content management files list 3410 byselecting an Upload Files button 3411 or by dragging files directly intothe user interface 3400.

FIG. 35 shows an example of a user interface including a detailedinformation page displaying data regarding a persistent objectrepresenting the content object stored in the external contentmanagement data source from FIG. 32B. A user interface 3500 includes adetailed information page view of a title or reference 3511corresponding to the external content object. A user may initiate anaction to open the detailed information page view of the reference 3511by clicking on the reference 3322 in FIG. 33 or the reference 3421 inFIG. 34. The detailed information page view can include metadata 3512,3513, and 3516 regarding the persistent object, where the metadata canrelate to the external content object or retrieved from the externalcontent object. The detailed information page view can also includecapabilities 3514 for interacting with the external content object viathe persistent object.

XIV. Interacting with External Content

The information data identifying the content object stored in thepersistent object can be used to gain access to and interact with theexternal content object. Using the framework provided by the contenthub, users in an on-demand database service may have complex socialinteraction related to external content objects. For example, externalcontent files may be shared conveniently and seamlessly via persistentobjects. Users may take advantage of the viral nature of socialnetworking to quickly collaborate on content files, whether external ornative to the on-demand database service. At the same time, permissionsfor accessing and updating the content files may be enforced. This canretain the security of files stored within external content managementdata sources and also advance the privacy needs of the organization towhich the on-demand database service relates.

FIG. 17 shows a flowchart of an example of a computer-implemented method1700 for interacting with a content object stored in an external contentmanagement data source, performed in accordance with someimplementations. The method 1700 may be described with reference to someexamples illustrated in FIGS. 36-39C.

At block 1704 of the method 1700, a content object stored in a contentmanagement data source can be accessed at a computing device, where thecontent management data source is external to the on-demand databaseservice, and where information data identifying the content object isstored in a persistent object in a database of the on-demand databaseservice, the persistent object representing the content object. In someinstances, block 1704 may be generally described with respect to some orall of blocks 1604, 1608, and 1612 of the method 1600.

In some implementations, to access the content object, the method 1700can further include sending a content object identifier to the contentmanagement data source, where the content object identifier is retrievedfrom the persistent object. The method 1700 can further includeidentifying the content object via the content object identifier andestablishing read/write access with the content object. One or moremiddleware components can facilitate such communication between thepersistent object in the on-demand database service and the contentobject stored in the external content management data source, asdescribed earlier.

At block 1708 of the method 1700, an indication of an event requestinginteraction with the content object is received at the computing device.In some implementations, the event includes a request to modify thecontent object from the on-demand database service. In otherimplementations, the event includes a notification of a modification ofthe content object from the content management data source. In otherwords, a modification to the external content object can originate fromthe source of the content object or from the on-demand database service.

In implementations where the event includes a request to modify thecontent object from the on-demand database service, the request may becaused by actions or a sequence of actions performed in the on-demanddatabase service. The actions may be initiated by a user input actionoriginating from one or more social layers in the on-demand databaseservice. In the one or more social layers, a selectable component forthe persistent object may be provided, where the selectable componentcan serve as a copy of the external content object or as a link to theexternal content object. The selectable component may be provided in asocial layer when a display device accesses the on-demand databaseservice. The social layer may be accessible to a plurality of users inthe on-demand database service. The social layer can include but is notlimited to a group, a record, an organization, a content managementfiles list, an information feed, a user profile, or other webpage of theon-demand database service.

Providing the selectable component for the persistent object in a sociallayer can facilitate access to, collaboration on, and distribution ofcontent within a social networking framework. The content may includeexternal content files capable of being viewed on the display device.For instance, the external content files can include word processingdocuments, video files, audio files, databases, and other such files.

When the persistent object is created for representing an externalcontent object and stored in the database of the on-demand databaseservice, one or more operations may be performed for providing and/orretrieving data regarding the external content object. Such data caninclude metadata so that the persistent object can be assigned a name, atype, a creation date, an owner, and other metadata. A virtual objectmay be temporarily created and stored to not only facilitate retrievalof data regarding the external content object but to also facilitateinteraction with the external content object. As the virtual object caninstantiate connection between the on-demand database service and thecontent object, a user can interact with the content object through thevirtual object. In essence, the virtual object is a temporary objectthat allows interactions to be appropriately mapped and translatedbetween the external content object and the on-demand database service,whereas the persistent object is a persistent representation of theexternal content object rendered in the on-demand database service.

In some implementations, more than one file object may be associatedwith the persistent object. In one example, the persistent object caninclude more than one version of a file object. In another example, thepersistent object can be split into different file object portions, suchas a file object having portions corresponding to different pages orsections in a document. In yet another example, the persistent objectcan represent a folder including a plurality of file objects.

In some implementations, the persistent object may be shared. Sharingthe persistent object may refer to establishing a permissionconfiguration specifying the type of access allowed for various usersand groups. For instance, users and groups may be permitted to view,edit, comment on, share, publish, or perform various other operationsrelating to the persistent object.

In some implementations, the content object is collaborated on throughthe persistent object. Collaborating on the content object may includeproviding the persistent object to users or groups in accordance withcertain sharing permissions. When a request to access the content objectis detected, a determination can be made as to whether the accessrequest complies with the sharing permissions.

Various operations related to the persistent object may be permitteddepending on the sharing permissions. These operations can include, butare not limited to, the following operations: comments regarding thepersistent object, edits to the content object corresponding to thepersistent object, creation of a new content object corresponding to anexisting or new persistent object, sharing the persistent object withadditional users or groups, and initiating new conversations regardingthe persistent object.

In some implementations, the persistent object is published ordistributed as a selectable component. The persistent object may be madeavailable for consumption by a broader audience of users or groups. Forexample, the persistent object may be published in a digital library orposted on a webpage.

Other operations can be performed on a persistent object. A persistentobject can be archived or deleted. A persistent object can be followed.A persistent object can be searched for. A persistent object can beanalyzed, sorted, filtered, or otherwise processed. Some of theseoperations are discussed in more detail below.

FIG. 36 shows an example of a user interface including a searchcomponent for searching through one or more databases in an on-demanddatabase service. A user interface 3600 includes a publisher 3610configured to publish information to an information feed 3620. Theinformation feed 3620 can include one or more feed items 3621. Inaddition, the user interface 3600 includes a search toolbar or component3625 for searching across one or more databases in the on-demanddatabase service. The search component 3625 can include a user inputvalue 3626, where the user input value 3626 may include a string ofcharacters that is contained in or similarly matching a string ofcharacters corresponding to a persistent object. As shown in the examplein FIG. 36, a user input value 3626 of “quadrant” can generate itemssuch as a file that includes the search query.

FIG. 37 shows an example of a user interface providing search resultsincluding native files and external content files in the on-demanddatabase service. The user interface 3700 can be generated in responseto the search query performed in FIG. 36. Search results 3705 may beprovided in the user interface 3700 showing federated search resultsgenerated in response to a search query 3725. A People, Group, & Filestab 3740 may summarize the files, groups, and people that contain or issimilar to the search query 3725. In the example in FIG. 37, Files 3741show two files, Groups 3742 show zero groups, and People 3743 show zeropeople as provided in the search results 3705. The federated searchresults 3705 can display native Chatter Files 3760 and externalSharePoint Files 3770. A file 3761 is shown under Chatter Files 3760 andanother file 3771 is shown under SharePoint Files 3770. A user mayperform an action on any of the files 3761 or 3771. As illustrated inthe example in FIG. 37, a user may cause an overlay window 3750 toappear in the user interface 3700 with respect to file 3771. The usermay download the pdf, share with people, share with groups, share vialink, or edit sharing settings from the overlay window 3750 with respectto file 3771.

When a plurality of external content objects are accessed in a contentmanagement data source, the content objects may be represented aspersistent objects in the on-demand database service. A social layer,such as a content management files list in the on-demand databaseservice, may provide a portal for users to navigate and search theplurality of external content objects from the on-demand databaseservice. In some instances, the navigation and search can be performedacross a plurality of content management data sources.

FIGS. 38A-38C show an example of a user interface illustratingnavigation through content files and folders stored in an externalcontent management data source from an on-demand database service. Theuser interface 3800 represents a portal that integrates a user's contentfiles and folders from across a plurality of data sources. Some of theuser's content files and folders may be stored in a database native tothe on-demand database service. Here, the user may access his/her filesin Chatterbox 3801, including files and folders that were recentlyaccessed and/or shared with the user. Some of the user's content filesand folders may be stored in data sources external to the on-demanddatabase service. Here, the user may access his/her files stored inSharePoint 3802, Box.net 3803, Dropbox 3804, and Google Drive 3805. Theuser interface 3800 can also include a search toolbar 3810 to perform asearch query across one or more data sources.

In FIG. 38A, when a user selects SharePoint 3802 to access his/her filesand folders, a graphical user interface (GUI) 3820 can be displayed fornavigating the user's SharePoint files and folders. The GUI 3820 candisplay a list of items, such as a plurality of folders 3821 accessibleto the user. The user can select one of the folders 3821, which caninclude a title, an author, a data source icon, a timestamp, a star iconfor marking, and a button for selecting more options. The user can alsoselect a button in the GUI 3820 to Add File or Folder 3822, whichenables the user to add new files and folders to the content managementdata source from the on-demand database service.

As shown in FIG. 38B, when the user selects the Greenhill Sales Reportsfolder 3821 in FIG. 38A, a GUI 3830 can be provided that displays aplurality of subfolders 3831 from SharePoint 3802 stored in theGreenhill Sales Report folder 3821. Some of the subfolders 3831 may beowned by the user and some of the subfolders 3831 may be shared with theuser. Similar data or features in FIG. 38A (e.g., a title, an author, atimestamp, a star icon, and a button for selecting more options) may bedisplayed for each subfolder 3831. Additional data or features may bedisplayed, such as whether the subfolder 3831 is shared publicly orprivately. Each of the subfolders 3831 can include one or more files.

As shown in FIG. 38C, when the user selects the Shiraz Sales Reportssubfolder 3831 in FIG. 38B, a GUI 3840 can be provided that displays aplurality of files 3841 from SharePoint 3802 stored in the Shiraz SalesReport subfolder 3831. Each of the files 3841 may include data andfeatures similar to FIGS. 38A and 38B (e.g., a title, an author, atimestamp, a star icon, a button for selecting more options, apublic/private sharing icon). Thus, the user can access his/her filesstored in the SharePoint 3802 data source in the user interface 3800 ofthe on-demand database service as if the user were navigating inSharePoint.

FIG. 38D shows an example of a user interface illustrating a detailedinformation page displaying data in the on-demand database service foran external content file. When the user selects the Shiraz Sales Report2012 file 3841 in FIG. 38C, a detailed information page 3850 may beprovided in the user interface 3800. The detailed information page 3850may include an access-controlled preview 3855 of the selected file 3841.Metadata regarding the selected file 3841 may be provided in thedetailed information page 3850, including the Owner 3861, the LastModified time and date 3862, the version 3863, the data source 3864, thedescription 3865, and other SharePoint information 3866. The metadatacan also include followers 3867 that are following the selected file3841 as well as which entities 3868 to whom the selected file 3841 isshared with. In addition, the user can perform an action with respect tothe selected file 3841, including downloading the selected file 3841 orediting sharing settings for the selected file 3841.

With middleware components facilitating communication between anon-demand database service and external content management data sources,fragmented content can be integrated into a single portal for ease ofnavigation and access. Persistent objects can be stored in the on-demanddatabase service to represent external content objects. Not only canproviding a selectable component for a persistent object facilitateaccess to the external content object, but the selectable component forthe persistent object can facilitate sharing and collaboration in asocial networking framework.

FIGS. 39A-39C show an example of a user interface illustrating asequence of steps for sharing a content file stored in an externalcontent management data source in an information feed in the on-demanddatabase service.

In FIG. 39A, a user can access a Shiraz Marketing Group page 3950 thatincludes a publisher 3905 and an information feed 3920. The ShirazMarketing Group page 3950 may also display information regarding thegroup, including its members 3930 and its group files 3940. Thepublisher 3905 may be configured to publish information to theinformation feed 3920. When a user publishes information from thepublisher 3905, the information is posted as a feed item 3921.

When a user selects File 3910 in the publisher 3905, the user isprovided a first option 3911 to select a file from Chatterbox and asecond option 3912 to upload a file from one's computer. The firstoption 3911 can allow the user to select from among a plurality of filesintegrated across a plurality of data sources, including from externalcontent management data sources as well as from data sources native tothe on-demand database service. The second option 3912 can allow theuser to upload a file stored locally on the user's client device.

In FIG. 39B, upon selecting the file, the user can publish a message orcomment 3913 to accompany information being published to the informationfeed 3920. Here, the user has selected the Shiraz Sales Report 2012 file3914. The Shiraz Sales Report 2012 file 3914 may be stored outside ofthe on-demand database service. In some implementations, the selectedfile 3914 can include a preview 3915 of the selected file 3914. The usercan choose the destination feed 3916 for posting the selected file 3914and the comment 3913. Accordingly, the selected or uploaded file 3914 ispublished as a reference in the Shiraz Marketing Group 3950. Thereference can be a copy of the content object or a link to the file3914.

In FIG. 39C, when the user selects Share 3917, the selected file 3914and the comment 3913 is provided in the information feed 3920 as a feeditem 3922. The feed item 3922 includes options 3923 to open the ShirazSales Report 2012 file 3914 and to select from additional actions. Otheroptions can include commenting on the feed item 3922, liking ordisliking the feed item 3922, and sharing the feed item 3922.Accordingly, members of the Shiraz Marketing Group 3950 may be able toaccess the Shiraz Sales Report 2012 file 3914 from the information feed3920. Furthermore, conversations may be conducted with respect to theShiraz Sales Report 2012 file 3914. Therefore, external content filesmay be edited, shared, commented on, collaborated on, and otherwiseinteracted with in a social networking framework.

Returning to the method 1700 in FIG. 17, the indication of the event caninclude a request to modify the content object from the on-demanddatabase service. When a user accesses the content object stored in anexternal content management data source, the user can edit the contentsof the content object via a web browser or application. For example, ifthe content object were a word processing document, then the user canopen the content object via the selectable component for the persistentobject by a word processing application like Microsoft Word or by aweb-based document editing utility.

Data regarding the content object can be retrieved by creating a virtualobject, and modifications to the data regarding the content object canoccur via mapping and translation processes through the virtual object.The virtual object can facilitate reading and writing of the dataregarding the content object. The modifications can be written and savedto external content object in the content management data source.

In some implementations, the method 1700 can further include determiningthat the user associated with the request to modify the content objectfrom the on-demand database service has permission to perform therequested modification with the content object. While sharing thepersistent object in the on-demand database service may allow moreentities to access the external content object, a permissionconfiguration may restrict read/write access to one or more entities. Byproviding access to the external content object through itscorresponding persistent object in the on-demand database service,permissions to own, edit, and access the content object may bedetermined in part by the permission configuration associated with thepersistent object. For example, if a persistent object is published to adigital library, then access to the external content object may begoverned by the permissions established for the digital library. If apersistent object is published and shared with a private group of users,then members of the private group may be granted access to the externalcontent object by virtue of the sharing operation.

When a persistent object is shared, a permission configuration may beestablished specifying the type of access allowed for various users andgroups. In some implementations, the determination that a userassociated with the request to modify the content object has permissionto perform the requested modification can include identifying therequester and comparing the permission configuration with the identityof the requester. In some instances, the shared persistent object maypermit some actions, such as viewing the external content object, butmay not permit other actions, such as editing the contents of theexternal content object. In some instances, the shared persistent objectmay permit some actions to specific entities, such as the owner of theexternal content object being able to edit the contents of the externalcontent object, but may not permit such actions to other entities. Insome implementations, different entities may have different permissionlevels, also called authorization. This can distinguish, for example, anadministrator, an owner, a member of a group, a standard user, and otheruser accounts. In some implementations, different entities may havedifferent access permissions. Access permissions may include but is notlimited to ownership of the content object, permission to collaborate onand edit the content object, permission to share the content object, andpermission to view the content object.

In some implementations, the permission configuration associated with apersistent object may be based at least in part on the sharingarrangements of the social layers to which the persistent objectbelongs. When a persistent object is shared privately within a group,for example, only members of the group may access the external contentobject. When a persistent object is shared publicly, entities within theon-demand database service may access the external content object. Insome implementations, the permission configuration associated with apersistent object may be based at least in part on designations providedby an owner of the external content object. For example, the owner of anexternal content object may limit the permission to edit the contents ofthe external content object to only specific entities. Permissionconfigurations for a persistent object may be stored with the persistentobject in the on-demand database service.

In some implementations of the method 1700, receiving the indication ofthe event can include receiving a request to follow the content objectstored in the external content management data source. A user may beinterested in being alerted when updates to the content object occur.Following the content object can include receiving an indication of anevent regarding a state of the content object from the on-demanddatabase service or from the content management data source, identifyingan update regarding the content object, and sending a networkcommunication providing a notification of the update to a userassociated with the request to follow the content object. In someimplementations, the external content management data source canidentify the update to tell the on-demand database service what haschanged. In some implementations, the external content management datasource can send a signal to the on-demand database service regarding thestate of the content object, and the on-demand database serviceidentifies whether an update has occurred or not.

After receiving an indication of an event requesting interaction withthe content object is received at the computing device, the method 1700can further include sending a message to the content management datasource in response to the requested interaction with the content object,the message requesting performance of the requested interaction with thecontent object. The message may be transmitted from the on-demanddatabase service through the one or more middleware components tocommunicate with the content management data source. A virtual objectmay provide the interface by which the interaction with the contentobject occurs. Examples of requested interactions may include creating anew content object, modifying the contents of the content object,modifying access permissions or privacy controls of the content object,modifying metadata associated with the content object, deleting thecontent object, archiving the content object, following the contentobject, etc. When the requested interactions are performed in either theon-demand database service or the content management data source,updates to the content object may be saved in the content managementdata source.

In some implementations, sending the message can include creating a newcontent object in the content management data source. In other words, auser can create a new content file or folder in the content managementdata source from the on-demand database service. The new content objectcan have its own metadata associated with it. For example, the requestercan provide metadata such as a name, a file type, and other information.In some implementations, the new content object can have its ownpermission configuration associated with it. In some implementations,the new content object can be a new version of a file overwriting aprevious version. The new content object can have a correspondingpersistent object stored in a database of the on-demand databaseservice.

In some implementations, sending the message can include modifying thecontent object from the on-demand database service. Modifications to thecontent object can take the form of editing the contents of the contentobject and/or editing the metadata associated with the content object.The content object can be accessed via the persistent object stored inthe on-demand database service. The persistent object stores informationdata identifying the content object so that the content object can beidentified via the one or more middleware components. Read/write accesscan be established with the content object. The contents of the contentobject may be displayed through a web browser or application in adisplay device so that the user can edit the contents of the contentobject. In some instances, the metadata of the content object may bedisplayed in a display device so that the user can edit the metadataassociated with the content object. Modifications to one or both thecontents of the content object and metadata associated with the contentobject can be saved to the content management data source.

In some implementations, the content object may be a document file thatis capable of being displayed on a display device. For example, thedocument file may be a word processing document, an image a video, or anaudio file. In some instances, while the persistent object may notnecessarily include the contents of the content object, the persistentobject may be configured to identify the content object and retrieve thecontents of the content object. Hence, sending the message can includeretrieving the contents of the content object from the contentmanagement data source to be displayed on a display device. In someimplementations, the contents of the content object can be displayed ina web browser or application that is appropriate to the document filetype.

In some implementations, sending the message can include updating accesspermissions of the content object. Access permissions can includeownership of the content object, permission to collaborate on and editthe content object, permission to share the content object, andpermission to view the content object. A requester, such as an owner ofthe content object, can modify access permissions for various users.That way, some users may have permission levels that are different fromother users, or the permission levels may be the same for all users.

When a selectable component for a persistent object is provided in asocial layer, a user input can be received at the computing device withrespect to the selectable component, where receiving the indication ofthe event in the method 1700 is responsive to the user input. The userinput can initiate one or more actions with respect to the persistentobject. In some implementations, the user input can initiate one or moreactions on the external content object via the persistent object. Theone or more actions can request performance of some of theabove-referenced interactions.

At block 1712 of the method 1700, the persistent object is updated toreflect the interaction with the content object. The update to thepersistent object may be stored in the database of the on-demanddatabase service. In some implementations, the update may includechanges to data regarding the content object. By way of an example, atimestamp indicating the most recent change may be updated. The updatemay trigger other actions, including inserting a feed item into aninformation feed to reflect the update. Then, one or more entities inthe on-demand database service may be alerted of the update.

Updates to the persistent object may occur by modifications madedirectly to the persistent object. In such instances, the modificationscan be written to the corresponding content object in the externalcontent management data source. For example, a user can change thedescription of a SharePoint document from Chatter® and choose to savethe changes to SharePoint.

Some modifications can be made in the content management data source. Insome implementations, a plug-in or other client application can sendpush notifications to the on-demand database service. The pushnotifications can provide information regarding modifications made to acontent object. The corresponding persistent object can be updatedaccordingly. For example, a user can edit the contents of a SharePointdocument, SharePoint can notify Chatter® of the changes, and acorresponding Chatter® file representing the SharePoint document can beupdated.

XV. Identifying One or More Categories for External Content

When fragmented content is integrated and persistently represented in asocial collaborative environment, information regarding such content canbe ascertained and shared in a social context. Not only can metadataregarding an external content object provide knowledge to an on-demanddatabase service, but information ascertained in the social context canalso provide knowledge to the on-demand database service. In otherwords, as external content objects (via persistent objects) are indexed,searched, commented upon, recommended to other users, liked, followed,shared, accessed, propagated, moved, edited, updated, deleted, andotherwise interacted with in the on-demand database service, moreinformation can be ascertained regarding the external content objects.Analytics regarding the external content object can generate usefulinformation that can be utilized in the social context. In fact, theon-demand databases service can leverage such information to recommendrelevant files to groups or users in the on-demand database service.

FIG. 18 shows a flowchart of an example of a computer-implemented method1800 for identifying a category associated with a persistent object inan on-demand database service, performed in accordance with someimplementations. The method 1800 may be described with reference to anexemplary diagram in FIG. 40.

At block 1804 of the method 1800, information data identifying a contentobject is received at a computing device from an on-demand databaseservice, where the content object is stored in a content management datasource external to the on-demand database service, as generallydescribed above at block 1604 of the method 1600. At block 1808, accessis established with the content object to retrieve data regarding thecontent object, as generally described above at block 1608 of the method1600. At block 1812, data regarding the content objet is stored in apersistent object in a database of the on-demand database service, wherethe persistent object represents the content object in the on-demanddatabase service and includes the information data identifying thecontent object, as generally described above at block 1612 of the method1600.

At block 1816 of the method 1800, a selectable component for thepersistent object is provided to a display device operable to displaythe selectable component in a user interface for the on-demand databaseservice. A social layer may be part of an online social network oronline business application that provides an interface that facilitatesaccess to, collaboration on, and sharing and distribution of content.Examples include a webpage associated with a particular network URL, aparticular digital library, or some other destination. The social layermay be accessible to a plurality of users in the on-demand databaseservice. In some implementations, the social layer includes a group, arecord, an organization, a content management files list, an informationfeed, a user profile, or other webpage of the on-demand databaseservice. When the selectable component for the persistent object isprovided in a social layer, the persistent object is made available forconsumption by a broader audience of users.

The social layer may provide an interface for performing a wide range ofoperations on external content through the persistent object. From thesocial layer, users can perform searches on content stored in one ormore external content management data sources in accordance with someimplementations. From the social layer, users may share or otherwisedistribute external content to one or more destinations in the on-demanddatabase service in accordance with some implementations. Thus, moreusers in the on-demand database service may access the external content.From the social layer, users may collaborate on external contentdepending on the access permissions associated with the persistentobject in accordance with some implementations. From the social layer,users may publish comments regarding external content in accordance withsome implementations. Users may update, archive, delete, recommend,analyze, sort, filter, and otherwise process external content from thesocial layer in accordance with some implementations.

As the external content is exposed to a wide range of operations in asocial context, more information can be ascertained regarding theexternal content to provide knowledge to the on-demand database service.In some implementations, the social layer can provide an interface forprocessing the external content to identify a tag or category toassociate with the persistent object.

At block 1820 of the method 1800, at least one category associated withthe persistent object is identified, the identified category configuredto be stored as a data entry among a plurality of data entries in thedatabase of the on-demand database service. In some implementations, theidentified category can be a topic and/or a hashtag. The identifiedcategory can be used in the on-demand database service to unifyfragmented content sharing the same or similar category. Specifically,document files scattered across a plurality of different databases canbe unified through a content hub when the document files share the sameor similar identified category.

In some implementations, the plurality of data entries may be stored ina database table. The database table can represent an index ofcategories by which a category can be identified. The index can becontinuously updated as categories are identified for a persistentobject. In some instances, the index can include a value, ranking, orscore for indicating the relevancy of a category associated with apersistent object. In some instances, the index can include a value,ranking, or score for indicating the relevancy of a category associatedwith a text (e.g., word or phrase in a description of a file) and/orevent (e.g., search or user interaction with a file).

By way of an example, the contents of an external content object caninclude a corpus of text. Each data entry in the database table caninclude a text and a text-to-category association. The text can be analpha-numeric string of characters, word, phrase, or combination ofwords. In some implementations, each data entry may also include atext-to-category score, value, or ranking. The text-to-category score,value, or ranking can be continuously adjusted each time the appearanceof a text in a corpus of text is assigned (or not assigned) to acategory.

In some implementations, identification of the at least one category canoccur upon receiving a user input of the data entry to identify the atleast one category. For example, when a selectable component for thepersistent object is provided in the social layer of the on-demanddatabase service, such as when the persistent object is provided in apost or a feed, a user may be given the opportunity to tag or otherwisecategorize their post or feed. In certain implementations, the user mayselect from a pre-defined list of categories or suggested categories.The user may manually enter one or more categories to associate with thepersistent object, in some implementations. When a category isidentified based on a user input, a data entry may be added or updatedto the plurality of data entries.

In some implementations, identification of the at least one category caninclude processing a corpus of text in the accessed content object andanalyzing text in a corpus of text against a plurality of data entriesin the database to identify at least one category. When a content objectstored in an external content management data source is accessed asdescribed above, a corpus of text can be read and processed. While anumber of techniques may be applied to read and process a corpus of textto extract a topic or category to associate with the corpus of text, anexemplary technique is described below.

A social intelligence engine can be implemented in the social layer toidentify one or more categories to associate with the persistent objectand provide recommendations of relevant persistent objects to useraccounts in the on-demand database service. The social intelligenceengine can include hardware, software, firmware, and/or processing logicto support identification of categories and provision ofrecommendations. The social intelligence engine can be in communicationwith a database that includes the database table storing the pluralityof data entries. The database table can represent an index that iscontinuously updated and continuously learns from previously associatedcategories. Thus, if a user associates a document containing certain keywords and phrases relevant to a topic, then the social intelligenceengine can add that topic and its association to the index. The socialintelligence engine can learn from the previous association to suggestthat topic to another document containing the same or similar words andphrases.

The social intelligence engine can read and process a corpus of textincluded in the contents of the content object and/or the metadata ofthe content object. The corpus of text may include words, phrases, orword combinations that can be intelligently linked or otherwiseassociated with one or more categories. Hence, a given text in thecorpus of text may be analyzed against certain categories to identifyone or more topics. For example, if a title of an external document filecontains “Obama,” a potential category for identification can be“politics.” If a description of an external document file includes“Lakers,” a potential category for identification can be “sports.”

Analysis of the text in the corpus of text can include comparing thetext to a text-to-category association (e.g., word-topic pair) in theplurality of data entries. Each of the data entries can include atext-to-category score, value, or ranking where the score, value, orranking can reflect the strength of the association between the text andthe category. For example, the score, value, or ranking can reflect thenumber of times that the category has been assigned to an objectcontaining the text. The text-to-category score, value, or ranking canbe continuously updated in the plurality of data entries. For example,as users assign topics to various media types, such as social mediamessages, word-to-topic scores can be generated. The number ofoccurrences of a word in a social media message, previously-madecorrelations in other social media messages including the word, andother factors may influence the word-to-topic score. Thus, someword-to-topic scores, values, or rankings may be higher than others,which can be based on the relevancy of the word-to-topic association.Therefore, a description of an external document file that contains“Lakers” may be analyzed, where a topic of “basketball” may have ahigher score, value, or ranking than “sports” or “Los Angeles.” A moredetailed description of obtaining word-to-topic scores, values, orrankings can be found in U.S. application Ser. No. 14/018,107 entitled“Computer Implemented Methods and Apparatus for Identifying a Topic fora Text” to Palmert et al., the entirety of which is incorporated byreference herein and for all purposes.

While the highest score, value, or ranking for a text-to-categoryassociation may identify a likely category to associate with thepersistent object, other parts of the corpus of text may be taken intoaccount to identify the category. For instance, a category may appearmultiple times in various text-to-category associations, and eachappearance of the category may be summed together so that the categorywith the highest score can be the most likely category to associate withthe persistent object. If a description of an external document filecontains “Lakers,” “Getty Museum,” “city,” and “Hollywood,” then a topicof “Los Angeles” may be more likely to associate with the document file.

Moreover, the text-to-category score, value, or ranking may beincremented based on the number of times the given text appears in thecorpus of text. Thus, if “Obama” appears five times in a corpus of textand “Lakers” appear only once in the corpus of text, then thetext-to-category association of “politics” may be greater than thetext-to-category association of “sports.”

In addition or in the alternative, identification of the one or morecategories to associate with the persistent object may be based at leastin part on the social layer or social context to which the persistentobject is provided in. Typically, information about a file can beascertained by its content and metadata. When a file is provided in anon-demand database service, more information about the file can beascertained from its social context. A social context can refer toinformation about a data object (e.g., persistent object) based on howthe data object is used in the on-demand database service. Suchinformation can be ascertained from, for example, who is accessing thedata object, who is searching for the data object, who is sharing thedata object, where the data object is being surfaced, what operationsare being performed on the data object, what comments are being madeabout the data object, etc. Thus, a social context of a persistentobject can be ascertained from a social layer in which the persistentobject is provided in as well as user interaction data regarding thepersistent object.

With a content hub as described earlier herein, content objects storedin external data sources can be surfaced in a social layer viapersistent objects that represent the content objects. As such, externalcontent objects can be presented in a social networking environment. Thecontent objects can be shared and distributed among a plurality of usersin an on-demand database service. The content objects can be integratedin business processes and workflows.

Content objects may be “surfaced” in a social layer when itscorresponding persistent object is provided in the social layer, andinformation regarding the surfaced content object may be ascertainedfrom the social layer. Some information regarding the surfaced contentobject that may be ascertained in the social layer can come fromcomments or conversations, posts, and feeds that accompany thepersistent object. Other information regarding the surfaced contentobject that may be ascertained in the social layer can come from otherobjects in the social layer as well as information regarding the group,organization, or user to which the persistent object is provided in. Insome implementations, information ascertained in the social layer caninclude metadata from CRM objects, such as opportunities, leads,contacts, accounts, cases, etc. For example, if the account where thepersistent object is provided in is a healthcare account, then thepersistent object is more likely to be associated with a topic of healthor healthcare.

In some implementations, identification of the at least one category caninclude extracting information regarding a social context of thepersistent object. The information regarding the social context caninclude, for example, attribute information of the social layer in whichthe persistent object is provided in, metadata of other objects in thesocial layer in which the persistent object is provided in, textualinformation of the social layer in which the persistent object isprovided in, and user interaction data regarding the persistent object.The information regarding the social context is analyzed with respect toone or more data entries in the database. In one example, text extractedfrom a social layer can be compared to word-to-topic pairs in a topicsdatabase. In another example, aggregated user interaction data regardinga persistent object can be analyzed to develop trends and patternstowards a certain topic.

A social intelligence engine can extract and analyze a social context insocial layer. Some examples of information regarding a social context ina social layer can include: (1) a user composes a post that includes apersistent object to publish to the social layer, where the postincludes a description of the external content object represented by thepersistent object; (2) a user comments on a feed item containing apersistent object; (3) a user publishes a post that includes apersistent object to a record feed about an opportunity; (4) a userprovides a persistent object in a group about cars where the persistentobject represents an article about hydrogen fuel cells stored inDropbox; and (5) a user provides a persistent object in a webpage thatalso includes several documents of real estate listings, where thepersistent object represents an image of a home for sale stored inBox.net. In each of these examples, it can be readily apparent howprocessing and analyzing information in the social layer can assistidentification of one or more appropriate categories to associate withthe persistent object. The aforementioned examples demonstrate thatinformation regarding the surfaced content object may be ascertainedfrom posts, comments, feeds, groups/organizations/users, and surroundingobjects, where such information may analyzed to identify at least onecategory to associate with the persistent object. It is understood thatthe aforementioned examples are meant to be illustrative only and notmeant to limit the scope of the disclosed implementations.

In addition or in the alternative, identification of the one or morecategories to associate with the persistent object may be based at leastin part on event-based data. Some examples of event-based data caninclude instances of searching for a persistent object, accessing apersistent object, updating a persistent object, deleting a persistentobject, providing a persistent object in a CRM object, sharing apersistent object, posting conversations about a persistent object, etc.Event-based data can include user interaction data with respect to apersistent object in the on-demand database service. Event-based datacan also include user interaction data with respect to the contentobject in the external content management data source. Events caninclude, for example, a content object being updated, accessed, created,deleted, indexed, moved, etc. Such events can be communicated to theon-demand database service to update or provide user interaction dataregarding the corresponding persistent object. In some implementations,user interaction data regarding the persistent object can be collected,where identifying the at least one category is based at least in part onthe user interaction data.

In some implementations, the user interaction data can include dataregarding selection of the persistent object from items in a searchresult. When users perform search queries in the on-demand databaseservice for content, search results may be displayed that includecontent files or folders that are native to the on-demand databaseservice and that are external to the on-demand database service, where apersistent object can represent a content file or folder external to theon-demand database service. By way of an example, a user performs asearch for “dog food sales” in Chatter®, and a sales report of Kibblesn' Bits® in 2013 is presented in the search results where the salesreport is stored in SharePoint. The user selects the sales report, anduser interaction data regarding the sales report is updated in adatabase of the on-demand database service. In some implementations, thesearch string or portions of the search string can be used to generate atopic to associate with the persistent object. Specifically, a socialintelligence engine can identify the category of “dog food” or “dog foodsales” to associate with the persistent object representing the Kibblesn' Bits® 2013 sales report.

In some implementations, the user interaction data includes attributeinformation of one or more users who accessed the content object throughthe persistent object. Information regarding the persistent object canbe gathered depending on who is choosing to access the external contentobject. Knowledge about a user can be ascertained from their attributeinformation, which can include the user's role and definition, theuser's preferences, or the user's behaviors. A social intelligenceengine can ascertain user attribute information, in someimplementations. To illustrate some examples, if patent attorneyspredominantly access a first external document file or if a user whosebehavior exhibits an interest in cars accesses a second externaldocument file, then user interaction data regarding the persistentobject can be created or updated based on such user attributeinformation. The first external document file can more likely beassociated with patents and the second document file can more likely beassociated with cars.

The identification of the at least one category to associate with thepersistent object can be based on an aggregation of some or all of theascertained information discussed above. This can include but is notlimited to information ascertained from one or both of the contents andthe metadata of the content object, information ascertained from thesocial layer in which the persistent object is provided in, andinformation ascertained from event-based data regarding the persistentobject. In some implementations, a social intelligence engine can beused to ascertain such information regarding a persistent object tofacilitate identification of the at least one category.

In some implementations, the method 1800 can further include updating avalue associated with the data entry in the database based at least inpart on the user interaction data, the value indicating a relevancy ofthe at least one identified category associated with the persistentobject. Some or all of the data entries in the plurality of data entriescan have a value (e.g., score) reflecting the degree of relevancy of acategory for the persistent object. The relevancy value can be based inpart on the occurrences of words in the content and/or metadata of thecontent object. The relevancy value can also be based in part on theoccurrences of words in the social layer in which the persistent objectis provided in. Moreover, as users interact with an external contentobject in the on-demand database service, the relevancy of somecategories may be adjusted based on who is accessing the externalcontent object, whether users access the external content object from asearch, etc. The highest values may account for some or all of theaforementioned factors to identify the one or more categories toassociate with the persistent object.

FIG. 40 shows an example of a database table for a plurality of dataentries identifying topics for a persistent object and correspondingvalues indicating relevancy of each topic for the persistent object. Apersistent object 4010 can represent an external content object 4000.The persistent object 4010 can correspond to a database table 4020 thatincludes a plurality of data entries 4025. Each of the data entries 4025includes a topic 4026 and a corresponding value 4027. The correspondingvalue 4027 can indicate the relevancy of the topic 4026 to thepersistent object 4010. In the example illustrated in FIG. 40, thetopics 4026 include “cars,” “sports,” “politics,” and “dogs,” with avalue of 345, 115, 7, and 2, respectively.

The corresponding values 4027 can be calculated based at least in parton an analysis of text in the accessed content object 4000, an analysisof text in the social layer in which the persistent object 4010 isprovided, and user interaction data regarding the persistent object4010. A first analysis database table 4030 includes a list of words4031, a list of corresponding topics 4032, and a list of correspondingword-to-topic scores 4033. The word-to-topic scores 4033 for a giventopic can be used to calculate the values 4027 in the database table4020. In FIG. 40, the occurrence of words like “Honda” and “brakes” inthe accessed content object correspond to the topic of “cars” to add tothe value of “cars” in the database table 4020.

A second analysis database table 4040 includes a list of words 4041, alist of occurrences 4042 where the word is provided, a list ofcorresponding topics 4043, and a list of word-to-topic scores 4044.Words such as “NASCAR” and “oil” that appear in the group name and in auser's comments regarding the persistent object can add to the value4027 of the topic 4026 of “cars” in the database table 4020.

A third analysis database table 4050 includes user interaction dataregarding the persistent object. The third analysis database table 4050can include a sub-table 4050 a that shows search queries 4051 in whichthe persistent object 4010 was selected and the number of times 4052that the persistent object 4010 was selected. The third analysisdatabase table 4050 can also include a sub-table 4050 b that shows rolesand definitions 4053 of users that accessed the persistent object 4010and the number of times 4054 that the persistent object 4010 wasaccessed. Search queries 4051 and roles and definitions 4053 can berelated to a topic by a score or value, and the score or value can beadjusted based on the number of times the persistent object was selectedor accessed. The score or value can be used to adjust the value 4027 ofany of the topics 4026 in the database table 4025. In FIG. 40, a searchquery of “Honda vehicles” where the persistent object 4010 was selectedfive times can be indicative of the persistent object 4010 relating tocars. In addition, users having an occupation as an auto mechanic thataccess the persistent object 4010 several times can also be indicativeof the persistent object 4010 relating to cars.

Values 4027 can represent a degree of relevancy of a topic associatedwith a persistent object 4010, where the values can be calculated by anaggregation of the word-to-topic scores 4033, word-to-topic scores 4044,a frequency of selection 4052, and number of times accessed 4054. Eachof the scores 4033, 4044, 4052, and 4054 can be weighted by variousinflation factors to arrive at final value.

Identification of categories associated with a persistent object canhelp unify the persistent object with fragmented content spread across aplurality of data sources. In other words, if a file stored in a datasource is associated with a topic, then other files associated with thesame or similar topic but stored in other data sources can be unified inthe on-demand database service. For example, a car owner is involved ina car accident and creates a report for the accident. The report for thecar accident is emailed to his insurance company, where the email isstored in a first data source. The car owner also takes a picture of thecar accident and saves the picture in a second data source. Theinsurance company accesses the insurance contract for the car owner,which is stored in a third data source. Even though the report, thephotograph, and the insurance contract may be stored in separate datasources, the on-demand database service may integrate content across theseparate data sources. Specifically, the content can be integrated in asingle database system. Furthermore, one or more overlapping categoriesassociated with each of the files can unify the files in the on-demanddatabase service. For instance, a social intelligence engine canidentify one or more categories associated with each of the files asdescribed above, and the files can be organized or stored in a databasein the on-demand database service according to the one or moreidentified categories.

Whether a content file or folder is recommended to a particular user orgroup of users may be based on analytics provided by a socialintelligence engine. Analytics may be considered the development andcommunication of meaningful patterns in data that can be derived throughthe application of statistical models and analysis. Such application ofstatistical models and analysis in analytics can lead to decisionrecommendations and/or insights. As an example, analytics data mayaggregate information about trends developing about a document, likesand dislikes about a document, topics being discussed related to adocument, key document attributes, and demographics and social profiledata of people discussing a document. The analytics associated with apersistent object may be used to predict what content files or foldersmay be of interest to a particular user or group of users.

In some implementations, the analytics provided by the socialintelligence engine may identify one or more categories to associatewith a persistent object as discussed above. Using such informationprovided by the social intelligence engine, the external content objectrepresented by the persistent object may be recommended to one or moreusers in the on-demand database service.

The persistent object may be accessible to a plurality of users in theon-demand database service. In some implementations, the method 1800 canfurther include determining that the persistent object is relevant to atleast one user in the on-demand database service and providing aselectable component for the persistent object to a display deviceassociated with the user operable to display the selectable component asa suggested content object when the display device associated with theuser accesses the on-demand database service.

Determining whether content is relevant to a user can depend onascertaining information about the user. The social intelligence enginemay collect and analyze information about the user. In someimplementations, determining that the persistent object is relevant canbe based at least in part on one or more of: profile information of theuser, preferences of the user, and usage patterns of the user.

Data regarding profile information of the user can include a user's roleand definition that can include a job title, a list of responsibilities,and a team to which the user belongs, among others. Data regardingpreferences of the user can include inputs received about what kind ofcontent the user prefers to consume. Such inputs can be received fromone or more of the user himself or herself, a third party data source,and the on-demand database service. Data regarding usage patterns of theuser can include metrics that track user behavior implicitly and/orexplicitly. Data regarding usage patterns of the user may be drawn fromthe on-demand database service. In some implementations, the dataregarding usage patterns of the user may be drawn from social networkssuch as Facebook®, Twitter®, LinkedIn®, and the like. In someimplementations, data regarding usage patterns of the user may be drawnfrom third party data sources, such as external data repositories.

Once information about the user is obtained, the information can becompared against the attributes of the persistent object. In someimplementations, the attributes of the persistent object can include theat least one identified category associated with the persistent object.The social intelligence engine can determine whether the at least oneidentified category may be of interest to the user based on theascertained information about the user. Then, a selectable component forthe persistent object can be provided to the user as a recommendation ina user interface component, such as a notification, prompt, window, orother graphical representation. The user interface component may includeone or more actionable selections to accept, reject, or ignore therecommendation.

In some implementations, the delivery of relevant content can occur uponreceiving an indication of an event at a computing device. An indicationof an event can include, for example, a creation of a group, a useraccessing group data, transmission of data to update a record, a changein a user's profile, a change in a group's description, a request toperform a search, etc. The occurrence of the event may provide dataregarding the user associated with the event such that external contentassociated with a persistent object may be relevant to the user. Hence,if a user creates a group with a portion of the group's descriptionmatching an identified category associated with a persistent object, aselectable component for the persistent object may be delivered to theuser. In some instances, the delivery of the persistent object can be inthe form of a recommendation.

With respect to the aforementioned display device for implementing anyof the methods described above, the display device can include any oneof a number of display devices. For example, the display device can beone of a smartphone, a laptop, a tablet, a wearable display device, anda desktop computer. The wearable display device can include, forexample, a smart watch or smart glasses.

In implementing any of the methods described above, the display devicemay also be part of one or more connected devices. For example, thedisplay device can be part of one of a vehicle, a consumer appliance,wearable technologies, a sensor, a robot, and an electronic product.

The specific details of the specific aspects of implementationsdisclosed herein may be combined in any suitable manner withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the disclosed implementations.However, other implementations may be directed to specificimplementations relating to each individual aspect, or specificcombinations of these individual aspects.

While the disclosed examples are often described herein with referenceto an implementation in which an on-demand database service environmentis implemented in a system having an application server providing afront end for an on-demand database service capable of supportingmultiple tenants, the present implementations are not limited tomulti-tenant databases nor deployment on application servers.Implementations may be practiced using other database architectures,i.e., ORACLE®, DB2® by IBM and the like without departing from the scopeof the implementations claimed.

It should be understood that some of the disclosed implementations canbe embodied in the form of control logic using hardware and/or usingcomputer software in a modular or integrated manner. Other ways and/ormethods are possible using hardware and a combination of hardware andsoftware.

Any of the software components or functions described in thisapplication may be implemented as software code to be executed by aprocessor using any suitable computer language such as, for example,Java, C++ or Perl using, for example, conventional or object-orientedtechniques. The software code may be stored as a series of instructionsor commands on a computer-readable medium for storage and/ortransmission, suitable media include random access memory (RAM), a readonly memory (ROM), a magnetic medium such as a hard-drive or a floppydisk, or an optical medium such as a compact disk (CD) or DVD (digitalversatile disk), flash memory, and the like. The computer-readablemedium may be any combination of such storage or transmission devices.Computer-readable media encoded with the software/program code may bepackaged with a compatible device or provided separately from otherdevices (e.g., via Internet download). Any such computer-readable mediummay reside on or within a single computing device or an entire computersystem, and may be among other computer-readable media within a systemor network. A computer system, or other computing device, may include amonitor, printer, or other suitable display for providing any of theresults mentioned herein to a user.

While various implementations have been described herein, it should beunderstood that they have been presented by way of example only, and notlimitation. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present applicationshould not be limited by any of the implementations described herein,but should be defined only in accordance with the following andlater-submitted claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a database systemimplemented using a server system, the database system configurable tocause: communicating with a plurality of content management data sourcesexternal to the database system; identifying the content management datasources in a user interface displayed on a display device, eachidentified content management data source having an associatedauthorization selection enabling authorization of the identified contentmanagement data source, each of at least a subset of authorized contentmanagement data sources having an associated plurality of customizationselections enabling customization via a user interface of two or moreof: a search setting to search content of the content management datasource, a communications setting to communicate with the contentmanagement data source, or an authentication setting to authenticatewith the content management data source; processing information receivedfrom one or more of the content management data sources, the informationidentifying a plurality of content objects stored in the contentmanagement data sources; generating and storing a plurality ofpersistent objects to represent the identified content objects in one ormore databases of the database system; performing a search on: aplurality of native files stored in one or more databases of thedatabase system, and the persistent objects stored in one or moredatabases of the database system; and processing a search resultidentifying at least a first one of the persistent objects representinga first one of the identified content objects.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein the first persistent object comprises a content objectidentifier comprising one or more of: a title, a source, a UniformResource Locator (URL), or a unique identification (ID) of the firstcontent object.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein a social layercomprises a list of the identified content management data sources, astream of a social networking system, a social network group, and adatabase record.
 4. The system of claim 1, the system furthercomprising: one or more middleware components facilitating communicationbetween the database system and the content management data sources, theone or more middleware components comprising one or more softwarecomponents, one or more user interface components, and one or moreapplication programming interface (API) components, and wherein the oneor more middleware components are configured to instantiate connectionbetween the database system and the content management data sources. 5.The system of claim 1, the database system further configurable tocause: enabling user composition of a post comprising a first selectablecomponent identifying the first persistent object, the post configuredto be shared in a stream of a social networking system for display on auser device of a user of the social networking system.
 6. The system ofclaim 5, wherein the first selectable component is configured to provideaccess to one or more operations associated with the first persistentobject and associated with the first content object.
 7. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the search is performed according to a user-definedsearch query.
 8. A computer program product comprising computer-readableprogram code to be executed by one or more processors when retrievedfrom a non-transitory computer-readable medium, the program codecomprising instructions configurable to cause: communicating with aplurality of content management data sources external to a databasesystem; identifying the content management data sources in a userinterface displayed on a display device, each identified contentmanagement data source having an associated authorization selectionenabling authorization of the identified content management data source,each of at least a subset of authorized content management data sourceshaving an associated plurality of customization selections enablingcustomization via a user interface of two or more of: a search settingto search content of the content management data source, acommunications setting to communicate with the content management datasource, or an authentication setting to authenticate with the contentmanagement data source; processing information received from one or moreof the content management data sources, the information identifying aplurality of content objects stored in the content management datasources; generating and storing a plurality of persistent objects torepresent the identified content objects in one or more databases of thedatabase system; performing a search on: a plurality of native filesstored in one or more databases of the database system, and thepersistent objects stored in one or more databases of the databasesystem; and processing a search result identifying at least a first oneof the persistent objects representing a first one of the identifiedcontent objects.
 9. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein thefirst persistent object comprises a content object identifier comprisingone or more of: a title, a source, a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), ora unique identification (ID) of the first content object.
 10. Thecomputer program product of claim 8, wherein a social layer comprises alist of the identified content management data sources, a stream of asocial networking system, a social network group, and a database record.11. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein communicationsbetween the database system and the content management data sources arefacilitated by one or more middleware components comprising one or moresoftware components, one or more user interface components, and one ormore application programming interface (API) components, and wherein theone or more middleware components are configured to instantiateconnection between the database system and the content management datasources.
 12. The computer program product of claim 8, the instructionsfurther configurable to cause: enabling user composition of a postcomprising a first selectable component identifying the first persistentobject, the post configured to be shared in a stream of a socialnetworking system for display on a user device of a user of the socialnetworking system.
 13. The computer program product of claim 12, whereinthe first selectable component is configured to provide access to one ormore operations associated with the first persistent object andassociated with the first content object.
 14. The computer programproduct of claim 8, wherein the search is performed according to auser-defined search query.
 15. A method comprising: providingcommunications with a plurality of content management data sourcesexternal to a database system; causing identification of the contentmanagement data sources in a user interface displayed on a displaydevice, each identified content management data source having anassociated authorization selection enabling authorization of theidentified content management data source, each of at least a subset ofauthorized content management data sources having an associatedplurality of customization selections enabling customization via a userinterface of two or more of: one or more search settings a searchsetting to search content of the content management data source, acommunications setting to communicate with the content management datasource, or an authentication setting to authenticate with the contentmanagement data source; receiving information from one or more of thecontent management data sources, the information identifying a pluralityof content objects stored in the content management data sources;generating and storing a plurality of persistent objects to representthe identified content objects in one or more databases of the databasesystem; causing performance of a search on: a plurality of native filesstored in one or more databases of the database system, and thepersistent objects stored in one or more databases of the databasesystem; and receiving a search result identifying at least a first oneof the persistent objects representing a first one of the identifiedcontent objects.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the firstpersistent object comprises a content object identifier comprising oneor more of: a title, a source, a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), or aunique identification (ID) of the first content object.
 17. The methodof claim 15, wherein a social layer comprises a list of the identifiedcontent management data sources, a stream of a social networking system,a social network group, and a database record.
 18. The method of claim15, further comprising: enabling user composition of a post comprising afirst selectable component identifying the first persistent object, thepost configured to be shared in a stream of a social networking systemfor display on a user device of a user of the social networking system.19. The method of claim 18, wherein the first selectable component isconfigured to provide access to one or more operations associated withthe first persistent object and associated with the first contentobject.
 20. The method of claim 15, wherein the search is performedaccording to a user-defined search query.